Decision on Penalty for Being Over the Cap

[jxroth]

Based on conversations with owners, the best solution to addressing teams that are over the cap is this:

Owners have 24 games/4 days to get under the cap. If they don't their draft position is dropped to 16. Owners should self police this by reaching out to an owner whose team is over the cap when the season starts. But that isn't a requirement and the penalty is imposed automatically, no matter the circumstances.

In the case we are dealing with now, owners have vouched for the Seattle owner and believe that he/she may not have seen this message thread or read the IMs I sent but that, as the rule states, doesn't matter. I will drop Seattle's draft position at the end of the season.

[piper108]

I didn't realize I was over the cap. I've been checking my team on my phone by going to the schedule page and therefore did not see any message notification or the league message board. I assumed my team was doing badly due to a large number of injuries. If I was trying to tank I definitely wouldn't do it by barely being over the cap, so dropping me down to number sixteen in the draft seems silly. Especially when my record isn't even the worst in the league.

They really should implement a system where the owner gets an email when they are messaged.

[jxroth]

As I noted to Seattle in an IM: "Nobody is questioning your motives or claiming that you are purposely tanking. Still it is up to each owner to come in under the cap after free agency. Indeed, under the rule we are giving owners 24 games to do this. The cap is essential to maintain a level playing field during free agency and competitive balance during the season."