Contract League - Setting Contract Lengths (1 Viewer)

[Hurl Bruce]

Just had my contract league draft. It's a $200 auction league where we can sign the players we bid on for up to 4 years at the current bid price for all of those years. If we cut a guy (like I just did Jonathan Brooks) then we are penalized 1/3 of the contract amount for the duration of the term.

Here are my signings this year and the years I am considering at first glance:

Dak Prescott - $18 - I really think this is 3-4 year contract. For reference, Burrow went for 37, Allen 49, Lawrence 16, Ward 17, Geno 9.
Aaron Rodgers - $4 - 1 year deal
Alvin Kamara - $16 - I think 2 for him is good. 3 is tempting though. Comps: Kaleb Johnson 13, Pollard 11, Conner 12, Breece 22
James Cook - $18 - I think this is a 3 year deal but maybe 2.
Jordan Mason $6 - This might be a 3 or 4 year deal. I think that Mason may be in line to take over the Vikings backfield going forward.
Rhamondre Stevenson - $3 - Is his time done? Will he keep a timeshare with Henderson? Not sure. I think this is 1 year even with that low price.
Jauan Jennings - $2 - This price is so low. Does he have 3-4 years of decent production? $2 is such a good price for a guy that could be a solid #2 on a team somewhere. 3 or 4 years I think.
DeVonta Smith - $13 - I think this is a 4 year price.
Dante Thornton - $4 - Think this is a 4 year price as well.
Calvin Austin - $1 - Does he have a future? Not sure. Probably a 1 year rental.
Mike Gesicki - $1 - Every year I need a $1 TE to round out my roster. Can that be Gesicki for more than one year?
Zach Ertz - $1 - Same deal as Gesicki but with a higher likelihood of the wheels falling off.

My roster:

QB Lamar Jackson 32/2 years left
RB Derrick Henry 17/1
RB Alvin Kamara 16/?
WR Malik Nabers 20/3
WR Garrett Wilson 7/1
TE George Kittle 13/1
WRT James Cook 18/?
WRT Devonta Smith 13/?
SF Dak Prescott 18/?

B Aaron Rogers 4/?
B Jordan Mason 6/?
B Rachad White 2/1
B Rhomandre Stevenson 3/?
B Davante Adams 16/1
B Jauan Jennings 2/?
B Donte Thornton 4/?
B Calvin Austin 1/?
B Zay Jones 1/1
B Mike Gesicki 1/?
B Zach Ertz 1/?

All of the 1 year deals are for this year only. What lengths would you assign these guys?

@Gally

 

[ZWK]

I think that the main thing to consider here is: what are the chances that this guy will go for significantly more next year, if he's back in the auction again? (At least that's my take from thinking about the rules; I haven't played in contract leagues.)

If a player will cost basically the same next year as he did this year, then you could just bid on him again next year instead of keeping him for multiple years on this contract.

With a veteran, there's some risk that he'll hit age-related decline this year and you'll be stuck holding the bag on the penalty (if you sign him for a multi-year deal), and probably not much advantage in getting to keep him at the same price, so 1-year deals seem best. So I would treat 1-year deals as the default - with most players you can probably get similarish guys at similarish prices in next year's auction.

The big edge is potential breakouts, mostly young guys, who would go for a lot more next year than this year.

So with your options, Jennings & Mason look like the best options for long-term deals and Kamara, Rodgers, and Prescott look like they should get 1-year deals.

Thornton & Stevenson have the right profile for long-term signings but I'm not sure if they're worth it at their prices. They aren't all that likely to hit, and probably won't hit big. But maybe they're cheap enough to be worth it?

Agreed that the $1 guys look like 1-year contract guys.

Cook & Devonta are established enough vets so that my first instinct is to give them 1-year deals. I guess their risk of age-related decline is not very high, though, so if you got good deals on them (at least a couple bucks less than they should cost) then maybe they're worth keeping longer-term? Though if you expect to keep getting good deals in every auction then saving a couple bucks isn't that good a reason to keep them long-term.