OK, I've given in to the pressure and supreme fun that is adding free agency to the IMD experience and I'm going to implement it starting in this IMD and if all goes well then we'll do it for the remaining IMDs this year. Therefore, I figured I ought to have a thread purely to explain the way things need to be done and exactly how things work.

Firstly, I will shortly be opening up the sign-up thread and there will be a deadline for signing up which will be confirmed later. At this deadline point, I will assume control of all teams who do not have a GM.

I will also later announce each teams current cap room and their list of free agents, both restricted and unrestricted. Each team will then have the option to place the franchise tag on one of their UFAs and to tender as many RFAs as they so desire. The values for the tenders will be confirmed here shortly.

Teams will also have the option to cut any further players they no longer require. You can find out how much cap space you will save by cutting a player by PMing me with the name(s) of the players you wish to know about. Players can be cut at any point up to the day before the end of free agency.

It should be noted that all cuts, RFA tenders and franchise tagging will need to be made via PM to me.

Following the close of the sign-up thread, free agency will begin. Every team will have the opportunity to PM offers to players through me. These offers will need to be in a specified manner, as follows:

Team Name:
Player Name:
Number of years: (eg. 5)
Signing Bonus: (eg. $10m)
Year 1 salary:
Year 2 salary:
Year 3 salary:
Year 4 salary:
Year 5 salary:
Year 1 cap hit:

Obviously, you need to list the salary for each year of the contract you are offering to the player. The year 1 cap hit is calculated by first dividing the signing bonus over the number of years of the contract and then adding that number to the Year 1 salary.

The minimum salary a player may be offered in any 1 year shall be $0.5m and salaries may not increase by any more than $1m per year.

If there are any mistakes in your offers, I will be unable to accept them and will return them to you pointing out the error so they can be corrected.

The player through their agent (me) will then decide where they wish to go and play. Please note this may not always be based entirely on the monetary value of the contract offered, though obviously this is a major factor.

Free agency will close approx. 1 week before the draft date. Please note that salary cap issues will not be considered when players are traded.

If anyone has any questions, please feel free to post them here, otherwise go ahead and sign up and let's have another damn good IMD!

Right...here comes some data. Firstly, each teams cap room:

Arizona Cardinals 38.6
Atlanta Falcons 36.2
Baltimore Ravens 24.2
Buffalo Bills 27.1
Carolina Panthers 17.7
Chicago Bears 21.1
Cincinnati Bengals 30.3
Cleveland Browns 6.5
Dallas Cowboys 6.7
Denver Broncos 30
Detroit Lions 28.6
Green Bay Packers 27.6
Houston Texans 26.5
Indianapolis Colts 3.8
Jacksonville Jaguars 17.9
Kansas City Chiefs 38.4
Miami Dolphins 34.8
Minnesota Vikings 22.4
New England 22.4
New Orleans Saints 1.6
New York Giants 16.4
New York Jets -5.3
Oakland Raiders 0.4
Philadelphia Eagles 38.4
Pittsburgh Steelers 20.8
St Louis Rams 14.1
San Diego Chargers 19.4
San Francisco 49ers 14.2
Seattle Seahawks 12.5
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 44.9
Tennessee Titans 31.6
Washington Redskins -6.8

And now each team's list of free agents:

Arizona Cardinals
RFAs:
Tim Castille FB
Ben Patrick TE
Scott Peters C
Leonard Pope TE
Pat Ross C
Lyle Sendelin C
Stephen Spach TE
Elliot Vallejo OT
Gabe Watson DT
UFAs:
JJ Arrington HB
Monty Beisel LB
Bertrand Berry DE
Elton Brown OT
Ralph Brown CB
Karlos Dansby LB
Eric Green CB
Clark Haggans LB
Antonio Smith DE
Terrelle Smith FB
Brian St Pierre QB
Kurt Warner QB

Atlanta Falcons
RFAs:
Tyson Clabo OT
Harvey Dahl OG
Renardo Foster OT
Jamaal Fudge S
Brent Grimes CB
Antoine Harris CB
Jason Rader TE
Ben Wilkerson C
UFAs:
Jonathan Babineaux DT
Michael Boley LB
Chauncey Davis DE
Domonique Foxworth CB
Wayne Gandy OT
Tony Gilbert LB
Grady Jackson DT
Jason Jefferson DT
Michael Koenen P
Lawyer Milloy S
Justin Peele TE
Coy Wire LB

Baltimore Ravens
RFAs:
PJ Daniels HB
Steven Hauschka K
Edgar Jones TE
Sam Koch P
Scott Kuhn TE
Dawan Landry S
Derrick Martin CB
Marcus Maxwell WR
Jameel McClain LB
Brandon McKinney DT
Evan Oglesby CB
Daren Stone S
Quinn Sypniewski TE
Kelly Talavou DT
Demetrius Williams WR
UFAs:
Kyle Boller QB
Todd Bouman QB
Jason Brown C
Terrence Copper WR
Dwan Edwards DT
Corey Ivy CB
Jim Leonhard S
Ray Lewis LB
Lorenzo Neal FB
Bart Scott LB
Matt Stover K
Terrell Suggs DE
Daniel Wilcox TE

Buffalo Bills
RFAs:
Copeland Bryan DE
Corey Mace DE
Blake Costanzo LB
John DiGiorgio LB
Keith Ellison LB
Ryan Neill LS
Matt Baker QB
Gibran Hamdan QB
Fred Jackson HB
Derek Schouman TE
Dustin Fox S
Jonathan Stuper TE
Justin Jenkins WR
George Wilson WR
UFAs:
Jabari Greer CB
Angelo Crowell LB
Teddy Lehman LB
Kirk Chambers OT
Melvin Fowler C
Duke Preston C
Jason Whittle OT
JP Losman QB
Corey McIntyre FB

Carolina Panthers
RFAs:
James Anderson LB
Jason Carter WR
Gary Gibson DT
Jeff King TE
Nate Salley S
UFAs:
Jordan Gross OT
Geoff Hangartner OG
Mark Jones WR
Jason Kyle LS
Frank Omiyale OT
Julius Peppers DE
Adam Seward LB
Darwin Walker DT

Chicago Bears
RFAs:
Jason Davis HB
Marcus Hamilton CB
Nick Roach LB
UFAs:
Mike Brown S
Rex Grossman QB
Kevin Jones HB
Brandon Lloyd WR
Darrell McClover LB
Brandon McGowan S
Fred Miller OT
John St. Clair OT

Cincinnati Bengals
RFAs:
John Busing S
Daniel Coats FB
DeDe Dorsey HB
Orien Harris DT
Eric Henderson DE
Glenn Holt WR
Rashad Jeanty LB
Brandon Johnson LB
Nate Livings OG
Reagan Mauia FB
Corey Mays LB
Dennis Roland OT
UFAs:
Stacy Andrews OT
Cedric Benson HB
Daryl Blackstock LB
Chris Crocker S
Ryan Fitzpatrick QB
Jamar Fletcher CB
Eric Ghiaciuc C
Shanye Graham K
TJ Houshmandzadeh WR

Cleveland Browns
RFAs:
Charles Ali FB
Titus Brown LB
Louis Leonard DT
Chase Pittman DE
Syndric Steptoe WR
UFAs:
Mike Adams S
Travis Daniels CB
Andra Davis LB
Darnell Dinkins TE
Lennie Friedman OG
Kris Griffin LB
Daven Holly CB
Sean Jones S
Willie McGinest LB
Seth McKinney OG
Shantee Orr LB
Jason Wright HB
Scott Young OG

Dallas Cowboys
RFAs:
Miles Austin WR
Stephen Bowen DE
Alonzo Coleman HB
Tony Curtis TE
Sam Hurd WR
UFAs:
Joe Berger OG
Brooks Bollinger QB
Chris Canty DE
Marc Colombo OT
Keith Davis S
Tank Johnson DT
Carlos Polk LB
Cory Proctor OG

Denver Broncos
RFAs:
Andre Hall HB
Erik Pears OT
UFAs:
Tatum Bell HB
Ebenezer Ekuban DE
Darrell Jackson WR
Marlon McCree S
Chad Mustard TE
Tom Nalen C
Karl Paymah CB
Kenny Peterson DE
Michael Pittman HB
Patrick Ramsey QB
Edell Shepherd WR
NateWebster LB

Detroit Lions
RFAs:
Anthony Cannon LB
Drew Henson QB
Shemiah LeGrande DT
Brandon Middleton WR
Ramzee Robinson CB
UFAs:
Aveion Cason HB
Shaun Cody DT
Keary Colbert WR
Damion Cook OG
George Foster OT
Jason Hanson K
Rudi Johnson HB
Paris Lenon LB
Andy McCollum C
Shaun McDonald WR
Langston Moore DT
Ryan Nece LB
Moran Norris HB
Dan Orlovsky QB
John Owens TE
Stephen Peterman OG
Corey Smith DE
Stanley Wilson CB

Green Bay Packers
RFAs:
Jarrett Bush CB
Tory Humphrey TE
Jason Hunter DE
John Kuhn FB
Ruvell Martin WR
Tramon Williams CB
UFAs:
Atari Bigby S
Shaun Bodiford WR
Colin Cole DT
Mike Montgomery DE
Mark Tauscher OT

Houston Texans
RFAs:
David Anderson WR
Mike Brisiel OG
Rashad Butler OT
Joel Dreessen TE
Stanley McClover DE
Harry Williams WR
UFAs:
CC Brown S
Mark Bruener TE
Earl Cochran DE
DeMarcus Faggins CB
Nick Ferguson S
Scott Jackson C
Bryan Pittman LS
Dunta Robinson CB
Cecil Sapp HB
Chris White C
Jimmy Williams CB
Eugene Wilson S
Jeff Zgonina DT

Indianapolis Colts
RFAs:
Daniel Federkeil OG
Tyjuan Hagler LB
Daniel Muir DT
UFAs:
Matt Giordano S
Kelvin Hayden CB
Keiwan Ratliff CB
Darrell Reid DT
Dominic Rhodes HB
Jeff Saturday C
Josh Thomas DE

Jacksonville Jaguars
RFAs:
Greg Estandia TE
Brian Iwuh LB
Jonathan Lewis DT
Jeremy Mincey DE
Montell Owens FB
James Wyche DE
UFAs:
Will James CB
Brad Meester C
Chris Naeole OG
Mike Peterson LB
Pierson Prioleau S
Gerald Sensabaugh S
Scott Starks CB
Joe Zelenka LS

Kansas City Chiefs
RFAs:
Weston Dacus LB
Rudy Niswanger C
Jarrad Page S
Jeff Webb WR
UFAs:
Rocky Boiman LB
Adrian Jones OG
John McGraw S
Pat Thomas LB

Miami Dolphins
RFAs:
Anthony Armstrong WR
Greg Camarillo WR
Patrick Cobbs HB
Tyrone Culver S
Aaron Halterman TE
Brandon London WR
Quentin Moses DE
Ike Ndukwe OG
UFAs:
Yeremiah Bell S
Vernon Carey OL
Channing Crowder LB
Andre Goodman CB
Renaldo Hill CB
Tab Perry WR

Minnesota Vikings
RFAs:
Fred Evans DT
Charles Gordon CB
Otis Grigsby DE
Jayme Mitchell DE
Naufahu Tahi FB
Dontarrious Thomas LB
UFAs:
Kenderick Allen DT
Matt Birk C
Michael Boulware S
Heath Farwell LB
Napoleon Harris LB
Jim Kleinsasser TE
Benny Sapp CB
Darren Sharper S
Ellis Wyms DT

New England Patriots
RFAs:
Wesley Britt OT
Dan Connolly OG
Ray Ventrone S
Pierre Woods LB
UFAs:
Eric Alexander LB
Matt Cassell QB
Heath Evans FB
Jabar Gaffney WR
Chris Hanson P
Rodney Harrison S
Russ Hochstein OG
Larry Izzo LB
Deltha O'Neal CB
Lonie Paxton LS
James Sanders S
Lewis Sanders CB
Kenny Smith DT
Tank Williams S
Mike Wright DT

New Orleans Saints
RFAs:
Remi Ayodele DT
Marvin Mitchell LB
Lance Moore WR
Chris Reis S
Montavious Stanley DT
Zach Streif OL
UFAs:
Mark Campbell TE
Troy Evans LB
Aaron Glenn CB
Joey Harrington QB
Deverey Henderson WR
Antwan Lake DT
Matt Lehr OG
James Reed DT
Courtney Roby WR
Aaron Stecker HB
Jon Stinchcomb OL
Jonathan Vilma LB

New York Giants
RFAs:
Craig Dahl S
Kevin Dockery CB
Dacry Johnson TE
Dave Tollefson DE
Danny Ware HB
UFAs:
James Butler S
John Carney K
David Carr QB
Brandon Jacobs HB
Jerome McDougle DE
RW McQuarters CB
Grey Ruegamer OG
Amani Toomer WR
Derrick Ward HB
Anthony Wright QB
Renaldo Wynn DE

New York Jets
RFAs:
David Clowney WR
Abram Elam S
Marques Murrell DE
Brett Ratliff QB
Robert Turner OG
Wallace Wright WR
UFAs:
Eric Barton LB
Ahmad Carroll CB
Jesse Chatman HB
Bubba Franks TE
CJ Mosely DT
Mike Nugent K
Hank Poteat CB
Cody Spencer LB

Oakland Raiders
RFAs:
Jon Alston LB
Ricky Brown LB
Jon Condo LS
Hiram Eugene CB
Chris Morris C
UFAs:
Nnamdi Asomugha CB
Rashad Baker S
Cooper Carlisle OG
Drew Carter WR
Isaiah Ekejiuba LB
Chris Johnson CB
Shane Lechler P
Tony Stewart TE
Marques Tuiasosopo QB
Sam Williams LB

Philadelphia Eagles
RFAs:
Hank Baskett WR
Nick Cole OG
Tank Daniels LB
UFAs:
Correll Buckhalter HB
Sean Considine S
Brian Dawkins S
Joselio Hanson CB
Jon Runyan OL
LJ Smith TE
Tra Thomas OL

Pittsburgh Steelers
RFAs:
Willie Colon OT
Carey Davis FB
Arnold Harrison LB
Anthony Madison CB
Anthony Smith S
UFAs:
Charlie Batch QB
Trai Essex OT
Andre Frazier LB
Chris Kemoeatu OG
Byron Leftwich QB
Bryant McFadden CB
Orpheus Roye DE
Marvel Smith OT
Max Starks OT
Nate Washington WR

San Diego Chargers
RFAs:
Antwan Applewhite LB
Jeromey Clary OL
Malcolm Floyd WR
Cletis Gordon CB
UFAs:
Kynan Forney OG
Mike Goff OG
Marques Harris LB
Jeremy Newberry C
Darren Sproles HB

Seattle Seahawks
RFAs:
Kevin Hobbs CB
Jordan Kent WR
Lance Laury LB
CJ Wallace S
UFAs:
Rocky Bernard DT
Bobby Engram WR
Charlie Frye QB
Chris Gray OG
Howard Green DT
Will Heller TE
Leroy Hill LB
DD Lewis LB
Maurice Morris HB
Jeff Robinson LS
Koren Robinson WR
Leonard Weaver FB
Ray Willis OG
Floyd Womack OT

San Francisco 49ers
RFAs:
Zak Keasey FB
Dominique Zeigler WR
UFAs:
Billy Bajema TE
Ronald Fields DT
DeShaun Foster HB
Rod Green DE
Bryant Johnson WR
JT O'Sullivan QB
Allen Rossum CB
Takeo Spikes LB
Donald Strickland CB

St Louis Rams
RFAs:
Victor Adeyanju DE
Brock Berlin QB
Quinton Culberson LB
Mark Setterstrom OG
Derek Stanley WR
UFAs:
OJ Atogwe S
Ronald Bartell CB
Jason Craft CB
LaRoi Glover DT
Dante Hall WR
Richie Incognito OG
Nick Leckey C
Dane Looker WR
Ricky Manning CB
Eric Moore DE
Rob Pettiti OT
Brett Romberg C

Tampa Bay Buccaneers
RFAs:
Donald Penn OT
Byron Storer FB
UFAs:
Will Allen S
Antonio Bryant WR
Phillip Buchanon CB
Kevin Carter DE
Jeff Garcia QB
Jovan Haye DT
Luke McCown QB
Jermaine Phillips S
Ryan Sims DT
Jerramy Stevens TE

Tennessee Titans
RFAs:
Colin Allred LB
Kevin Vickerson DT
UFAs:
Rob Bironas K
Chris Carr CB
Kerry Collins QB
Vincent Fuller S
Albert Haynesworth DT
Craig Hentrich P
Reynaldo Hill CB
Brandon Jones WR
Eric King CB
Daniel Loper OT
Justin McCairens WR
Bo Scaife TE
Chris Simms QB

Washington Redskins
RFAs:
Reed Doughty S
Justin Geisinger OT
Kedric Golston DT
Anthony Montgomery DT
UFAs:
Ethan Albright LS
Khary Campbell LB
Demetric Evans DE
Jason Fabini OG
Alfred Fincher LB
DeAngelo Hall CB
Pete Kendall OG
Shaun Suisham K

Hey you! Babs for the Falcons signed a 5 year extension.. He's not a UFA anymore..

Sorry, but there will be some players who signed extensions during the season who will be showing as free agents...for this IMD they will be remaining free agents. Sorry!

Franchise Tag Costs:
Each position has their own related franchise tag cost. These are:
QB - $14.0m
RB - $8.0m
WR - $9.2m
TE - $5.3m
OL - $8.5m
DE - $10.1m
DT - $7.6m
LB - $8.9m
CB - $10.7m
S - $5.1m
K/P - $3.0m

Restricted Free Agent Tenders:
There are 4 different tenders which may be given to RFAs, which are:
Low - Cap hit = $1.2m, Compensation = round player was drafted in
Medium - Cap hit = $1.8m, Compensation = 2nd round pick
High - Cap hit = $2.5m, Compensation = 1st round pick
Super - Cap hit = $3.2m, Compensation = 1st & 3rd round picks

Ok. Ok. Umm Is there a cap number each team must remain with at the end?

Yes...I just haven't quite got round to calculating it yet...I have spent ALL day sorting out the cap values and the identity of all the RFAs and UFAs. I was literally working from raw data since the NFL don't announce anything until FA starts.

So no ERFAs?

Also, are we just going on the 2008 salary and players cap hits with everything like cuts and 09' salary?

No, no ERFAs...

And no, I have spreadsheets for each team detailing every player's 2009 salary and cap hit, so if you want to know how much you will save by cutting certain players then you need to PM me with a list. It requires some fun maths so I won't be sending the spreadsheets round...they're a bit too complex, even for me sometimes!

The cap values listed in the second post are $123m (2009's salary cap) minus the current total being spent on players signed through 2009 by the team.

Thanks. One last set of stupid questions. Can you re-sign cut players, and non-tendered RFAs once they hit FA?

So say i trade someone whose cap hit is 10 mil for someone who is 5 mil do i gain 5 mil in cap space?

No... TRades dont take into account Cap. Even if its Brady for Clark Haggans or Peyton for Leroy Hill....

There are a few errors in the FA list:
1. Bigby is a RFA, not UFA.
2. Babineaux is not a FA.
3. Chris White is not a FA.
4. Pat Thomas is a RFA, not UFA.

Can we tender our RFAs now?

Yes, but obviously everyone then has a shot at them so you may lose out.



No, trades will not count anything towards the salary cap.



PP, I know my list is not likely to be perfect, but unfortunately its what we're going to use.



Yes, you can start dealing with FAs and cuts and indeed franchise tags from right now.

The Philadelphia Eagles would like to put a 2nd rd tender on Hank Baskett. (-1.8 mil) We will also put an undrafted tender on Nick Cole. (-1.2 mil)

Thats nice...but you need to PM me with that info, not post it

Another question. If someone was undrafted and were given the lowest tender. What is the price to pay on that said player.

No compensation required, since no pick was ever used on him.

So.. No Peppers as a UFA either?

Lol, my bad. But I guess I don't have to pm it now at least.

Correct!



I think you'll find he's listed...



Can you PM it please, just so I can respond with cap room and stuff...plus I don't want to set a precedent.

Woops My bad. Must've missed him

So, when can we get a depth chart thread?

I will create one momentarily.

How long do we have to get organized?

I'm trying to hurry, but I can only look at the screen a few minutes at a time, right now. I'm a little under the weather, sorry.

When can we begin sending you contract offers for UFA's?

Last two posts. He hasn't set a deadline for signups yet, but when it is filled or that date hits, then you can send in FA offers.


Also, CJS, any way we can move up the FA cutoff date to 2-7-09? It would be nice to have a couple weeks knowing your where your roster after hits and misses in FA is in case you need to make more moves.

Thanks for that RR!




In response to both of these, I'm thinking of closing sign-ups next Friday (1/30) and then allowing people time to sort out their RFAs and cuts etc until Tuesday 2/3, at which point the full list of UFAs will be published and contract offers can be sent.



With it looking like FA won't start until 2/3, there's very little chance of me being able to sort out 500 or so free agents in 4 days. The main players will likely sign in the first few days of FA, as they tend to do in real life, but I'm gonna need that week and a half to get every player who is big for out to a team.

Where are Jahri Evans and Khalif Barnes on the FA list?

CJ, quick question...do you know a good source for salaries? I want to look at who are my best options to cut for Dallas as I have quite a few spots to fill(mostly depth) and would like to know who I need to release. Also when is the Trade/Trash Talk Thread being created?

USAToday gets their numbers from the players union and agents, but they only have up to the current year listed.

Barnes is not a FA, and Evans is a RFA.

I'm pretty positive Khalif is a UFA (like 99.9% sure), and Jahri isn't listed on the front page, though. I can post about 5 scout.com articles (all but one are "insider" though) that all mention Barnes as a UFA, not to mention rotoworld and numerous news articles by simple google search also mention him as a UFA.

Khalif Barnes is a UFA I believe, I don't think Jacksonville plans on resiging him either.

I did warn you there might be errors or factual faults...Sorry!



Errr...no, just the speadsheets I have which may themselves not be 100% accurate.

I can almost positively tell you that he's not a UFA.

Well, as usual, you're wrong.

LINKY 1



LINKY 2



LINKY 3



LINKY 4



linky 5

MENTIONED TWICE

LINKY 6



linky 7



LINKY 8





Need more?

question: i know we are franchise tagging one of our UFA's but does that mean all the others will go into FA or can we sign other UFA's back now also?
Asking cuz i got Ravens and
Ray Lewis
Terrell Suggs
Bart Scott
Jason Brown
Matt Stover
Corey Ivy
Jim Leonhard
are all UFAs!!!!!!!
lemme know

thats like my whole defense

Yes, it means the rest hit FA...

LMAO

SALTED

How do the 49ers only have 14 mill of cap? Its at least 24 according to roto world

Because these are the best figures I have...

^^^Take a look at this site... and adjust if you would like

http://boards.ign.com/football/b5105/176384945/p1/?15

i do not get this!!

Even they admit those figures may not be right...I'm sticking with what I have, but thanks for drawing it to my attention.

Craig are you going to explain RFA a little more in depth when we do the RFA period?

Yes, when I post the full list of tendered RFAs I'll explain it for you.