Salary Cap
Jan 30, 2011 15:53:42 GMT -5
Post by Ben (Rays GM) on Jan 30, 2011 15:53:42 GMT -5
We've had multiple instances in the past couple of days of people going over their caps - two instances of people going over their cap and a few more where people have bid more than they have available (but then caught themselves or were outbid). So, I thought I'd clarify what happens in these situations.
If you make a trade that puts you over your salary cap, either the trade will be reversed, or you will simply have to drop some or all of the players you acquired in the trade, at the commissioners' discretion. You also may be fined an amount TBD by the commissioners. If the fine puts you over your cap, you will have to drop minor leaguers.
If you sign a free agent that puts you over your cap, the free agent will not be added to your roster. You will have to drop that free agent, and any additional free agents starting with the one most recently signed and working backwards until you are no longer in debt. You may also be fined an amount TBD by the commissioners. This amount will most likely be half of the offending free agent(s)'s salary(ies).
If you are caught bidding more money than you have available, the most recent bid(s) that you made will be cancelled so that you are no longer bidding too much, and you may be fined an amount TBD by the commissioners (probably equal to half the bid). Note that if you are set to receive discounts on the player, we will take those into account when determining whether you are liable to go over your cap or not.
If you bid more than you have available but you catch yourself quickly and let us know, your bid will be cancelled but you will probably not receive a fine. I'm not in the habit of punishing honesty.
Sometimes, the commissioners may give you the option to drop minor leaguers to get yourself out of debt, rather than giving the fine. This will be at the commissioners' discretion only, so you cannot count on receiving this option. You can always just cut the minor leaguers before going into debt, and then you'll be all set.
Every case is different, so every case will be dealt with in its own way, but these guidelines should give you a sense of how we will handle going into debt.
It is your responsibility to know how much money you have available. Even though Brian and I are the ones keeping the official rosters, if we make a mistake and we write down that you have more money available than you actually do, it is your responsibility to realize this and to let us know. This is why it is important for you to keep accurate rosters for yourselves, because it is your job to make sure your official roster is correct. You may not use a mistake on your official roster as an excuse for going into debt, or for anything else for that matter.
If you make a trade that puts you over your salary cap, either the trade will be reversed, or you will simply have to drop some or all of the players you acquired in the trade, at the commissioners' discretion. You also may be fined an amount TBD by the commissioners. If the fine puts you over your cap, you will have to drop minor leaguers.
If you sign a free agent that puts you over your cap, the free agent will not be added to your roster. You will have to drop that free agent, and any additional free agents starting with the one most recently signed and working backwards until you are no longer in debt. You may also be fined an amount TBD by the commissioners. This amount will most likely be half of the offending free agent(s)'s salary(ies).
If you are caught bidding more money than you have available, the most recent bid(s) that you made will be cancelled so that you are no longer bidding too much, and you may be fined an amount TBD by the commissioners (probably equal to half the bid). Note that if you are set to receive discounts on the player, we will take those into account when determining whether you are liable to go over your cap or not.
If you bid more than you have available but you catch yourself quickly and let us know, your bid will be cancelled but you will probably not receive a fine. I'm not in the habit of punishing honesty.
Sometimes, the commissioners may give you the option to drop minor leaguers to get yourself out of debt, rather than giving the fine. This will be at the commissioners' discretion only, so you cannot count on receiving this option. You can always just cut the minor leaguers before going into debt, and then you'll be all set.
Every case is different, so every case will be dealt with in its own way, but these guidelines should give you a sense of how we will handle going into debt.
It is your responsibility to know how much money you have available. Even though Brian and I are the ones keeping the official rosters, if we make a mistake and we write down that you have more money available than you actually do, it is your responsibility to realize this and to let us know. This is why it is important for you to keep accurate rosters for yourselves, because it is your job to make sure your official roster is correct. You may not use a mistake on your official roster as an excuse for going into debt, or for anything else for that matter.