Budget question

therealrebel14 · 05-23-2015, 04:13 AM

In an online league we have the Owner controls budget option off - all revenue is available to teams.

However almost every team's budget is projected to decrease by nearly 20 million dollars.

It is a current MLB startup - so there are lots of toxic contracts that were given before the players in the league took control of their team.

It is required that we turn a profit every handful of seasons - but I'm not exactly sure how that will be possible. Are we going to have a wasteland of talented free agents and no teams that can financially offer contracts?

I've attached a photo of my finances page for reference. Any help or insight would be appreciated.

jaysdailydose · 05-23-2015, 09:56 PM

If the national media contract is the same for all teams, just add $20M to it. That would replace the budget loss and would not give a competitive edge as all the other ways of making income (tickets, local media, and merch) are all market/fan behavior driven. (They are baseline numbers, whereas national is fixed if you have all teams receive the same.)

Unless this isn't what you are asking that is your easiest fix.

OakDragon · 05-23-2015, 10:08 PM

Are all the teams in question already running at a loss? From my experience in fictional, the AI will give you less money when you don't turn a profit (as is the case with this one), so I'm wondering if that's what's happening.

therealrebel14 · 05-23-2015, 10:23 PM

Thanks for the replies guys.. I am not the commissioner in this league but I foresee this as a major problem heading into the first offseason.

Not being the commissioner obviously I can not see the other teams in depth finances like my own, but several other owners have been complaining that their budget is being slashed next year most agree that turning a profit is going to be nearly impossible for 85-90% of the teams.

From the league reports - the only teams on pace to make a profit are the Brewers (just above $100,000) and Padres (about $5,000,000)

@OakDragon - I'm not sure what role the AI plays in budget since owners are turned off in the league and we are able to use all revenue earned.

@jaysdailydose - thanks, I thought about the media contract, but if it is changed will be retroactive or would it take place during the 2nd season?

OakDragon · 05-23-2015, 10:51 PM

Quote:

@OakDragon - I'm not sure what role the AI plays in budget since owners are turned off in the league and we are able to use all revenue earned.

Your team (the one in the pic anyway) has no money (a negative balance), but you have to get something so you can play out the season. In real life, you'd either have to take out a loan or sell or shut down the team.

jaysdailydose · 05-23-2015, 10:56 PM

I think the national contract is paid out first day of preseason but not at cpu at moment. Even if so, the commissioner could edit everyone another 20m in cash if it didn't affect in time.

NoOne · 05-23-2015, 10:57 PM

on the main league settings page - with all the league functions - there is a option to assign new contracts to players. maybe try it on a restored backup to test it out before implementing it.

like some said you can adjust national contract. you can also edit baselines for mechandise, local contracts, attendance, and i'm sure other things that you can do to augment the profit.

also, maybe do a google search to determin on average how many mlb clubs turn a profit from year to year. this may be difficult to find accurate information. supposedly, in 2011 27/30 teams made money - thats likely an anomaly. in 2013 or 2014 revenue ranged from 175mill (hou) to 500+mill (nyy). i would be it's typically a fairly normal distribution curve.

jaysdailydose · 05-23-2015, 11:17 PM

The only reason I said do the national is because the local and merchandise are baselines. They will not be the same for every team so hard to produce an equitable solution.

Airdrop01 · 05-23-2015, 11:27 PM

Probably shouldn't have spent $30M more than last year ($24M in increases and $6M in traded cash). I mean, that's almost 20% increase on an already massive $173M payroll the year before.

If everybody did that, then why should the commissioner bail them out. The other teams that make money are going to get some free agent deals I guess.

jaysdailydose · 05-23-2015, 11:48 PM

If the entire league is reporting having 20m less budget, though, then something is off.

It kind of sounds to me like the salaries exceed the financial capacity of the league.

therealrebel14 · 05-24-2015, 03:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Airdrop01

Probably shouldn't have spent $30M more than last year ($24M in increases and $6M in traded cash). I mean, that's almost 20% increase on an already massive $173M payroll the year before.

If everybody did that, then why should the commissioner bail them out. The other teams that make money are going to get some free agent deals I guess.

There are only 2 teams expected to make money - the Brewers ($100,000) and the Padres ($5,000,000). Also spending $24M more than the previous season is sort of misleading for what I had to do. The team I have is the Tigers (already saddled with Verlander, Cabrera, Nathan, Price, Kinsler, Sanchez). I also fell way short of my projected player expenses budget, but I brought in Cliff Lee and Justin Upton at the deadline (Upton's deal expires, and Cliff Lee has a team option) due to injuries and sitting in first place.

So yes, my payroll is higher but it is misleading - factor in 27.5M for Cliff Lee and 10M for Joe Nathan options and my player expenses for 2016 are $9M less than 2014.

By the way - the cash was sent to me, not traded away.

Another side note about this league - it is a reboot and when it was started the ticket prices were turned off due to some issues the league had in past versions with people taking advantage of the system. It was turned on at the all-star break and we were able to email the commissioner our new ticket prices but I'm under the assumption that season ticket revenue doesn't change retroactively.

therealrebel14 · 05-24-2015, 03:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OakDragon

Your team (the one in the pic anyway) has no money (a negative balance), but you have to get something so you can play out the season. In real life, you'd either have to take out a loan or sell or shut down the team.

I follow what you are saying 100%, thanks for the reply. I guess the point in the OP is that if 28 of 30 teams are in the red, then some of the league financial settings need to be tweaked, and I was looking for some confirmation (before bringing it up in a league message board) which you have given me - thank you sir.

therealrebel14 · 05-24-2015, 03:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jaysdailydose

If the entire league is reporting having 20m less budget, though, then something is off.

It kind of sounds to me like the salaries exceed the financial capacity of the league.

Any idea where I should guide the commish to consider changes? Obviously it sounds like some of the baselines need to be tweaked. Is that a correct assumption? Someone else in the thread mentioned MLB profits, does anyone know where I can find this information given they are essentially private companies?

EDIT: I found some information on previous seasons online - not sure how helpful it is since I'm assuming the reason the league financials were set-up this way was so small market teams did not have as big of disadvantage as IRL.

therealrebel14 · 05-24-2015, 03:23 AM

From what I understand, playoff ticket prices are double the season ticket price, so assuming that this team plays 12-14 playoff games which presumably would be sell-outs it is possible that this team turns a minuscule profit - but the other playoff teams are projected to lose even more money so it would probably turn the pool of profitable teams from 2 to maybe 4 or 5.

Airdrop01 · 05-24-2015, 03:35 AM

Amy way you can post each teams' payrolls? Are they all like the Tigers? (I'm colorblind so I have a hell of a time reading the plus and minuses by the way. I wish there were a colorblind fix in the game!

therealrebel14 · 05-24-2015, 03:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Airdrop01

Amy way you can post each teams' payrolls? Are they all like the Tigers? (I'm colorblind so I have a hell of a time reading the plus and minuses by the way. I wish there were a colorblind fix in the game!

This is the breakdown of projected profit/loss for each team in the league financials page.

The up to date revenue and expenses for each team. We are in the first week of August.

Player payroll for each team. Mine looks extraordinarily large - however I believe this is a result of the game viewing each player's salary in total. Presumably Cliff Lee's entire $25M likely shows up in this total - when in reality my expenses incurred will only be 1/2 of that (his pro-rated salary at the deadline) since player expenses are paid as the season plays out. That would be 12.5M for Lee, 7M for Upton and 4.5M for Latos who I also acquired - which would take the payroll down by 24M

therealrebel14 · 05-24-2015, 04:34 AM

As a side note - despite tough economic times in the league, Upton wants 44M for an extension, Price wants 37M, and Latos wants 26M.

Obviously I didn't plan on resigning them all - I was hoping for one of Price/Latos but without cash that is obviously all out the window.. Maybe I will have to pick up that Cliff Lee option after all

And to think Price/Latos want Kershaw money is comical, way too rich for my blood, and I have no idea what Upton is smoking because he is not even performing to a 14M contract.

Airdrop01 · 05-24-2015, 12:14 PM

Man, probably by the time I think about this and go to Mass and do my family stuff, someone will have helped. I'll check back later today. Those revenue and expense numbers don't look crazy but the budgets do (to me but I'm very tired having slept 4 hours). I'll check back tonight having thought about it.

Matt Arnold · 05-24-2015, 12:26 PM

Given those extension demands, I assume you're still playing on the 16.2 (?) patch? Updating to the newer patch will help those demands get more reasonable, and we've fixed a few issues in finances too to help smooth things out, including one I know in the case where we were incorrectly double counting things if play with all revenue available. I would definitely suggest updating to the new patch before budgets roll over to next year.

jaysdailydose · 05-24-2015, 12:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Airdrop01

Amy way you can post each teams' payrolls? Are they all like the Tigers? (I'm colorblind so I have a hell of a time reading the plus and minuses by the way. I wish there were a colorblind fix in the game!

Hear, hear on the colorblind fix. I am also.

05-23-2015, 04:13 AM	#1
therealrebel14 Minors (Rookie Ball) Join Date: May 2015 Posts: 25	Budget question In an online league we have the Owner controls budget option off - all revenue is available to teams. However almost every team's budget is projected to decrease by nearly 20 million dollars. It is a current MLB startup - so there are lots of toxic contracts that were given before the players in the league took control of their team. It is required that we turn a profit every handful of seasons - but I'm not exactly sure how that will be possible. Are we going to have a wasteland of talented free agents and no teams that can financially offer contracts? I've attached a photo of my finances page for reference. Any help or insight would be appreciated.

05-23-2015, 09:56 PM	#2
jaysdailydose Hall Of Famer Join Date: Nov 2012 Posts: 2,325	If the national media contract is the same for all teams, just add $20M to it. That would replace the budget loss and would not give a competitive edge as all the other ways of making income (tickets, local media, and merch) are all market/fan behavior driven. (They are baseline numbers, whereas national is fixed if you have all teams receive the same.) Unless this isn't what you are asking that is your easiest fix. __________________ Manager - Motor City Marshals Perfect Manager/Discord Name: jaysdailydose

05-23-2015, 10:56 PM	#6
jaysdailydose Hall Of Famer Join Date: Nov 2012 Posts: 2,325	I think the national contract is paid out first day of preseason but not at cpu at moment. Even if so, the commissioner could edit everyone another 20m in cash if it didn't affect in time. __________________ Manager - Motor City Marshals Perfect Manager/Discord Name: jaysdailydose

05-23-2015, 11:17 PM	#8
jaysdailydose Hall Of Famer Join Date: Nov 2012 Posts: 2,325	The only reason I said do the national is because the local and merchandise are baselines. They will not be the same for every team so hard to produce an equitable solution. __________________ Manager - Motor City Marshals Perfect Manager/Discord Name: jaysdailydose

05-23-2015, 11:48 PM	#10
jaysdailydose Hall Of Famer Join Date: Nov 2012 Posts: 2,325	If the entire league is reporting having 20m less budget, though, then something is off. It kind of sounds to me like the salaries exceed the financial capacity of the league. __________________ Manager - Motor City Marshals Perfect Manager/Discord Name: jaysdailydose

05-23-2015, 10:08 PM	#3
OakDragon Hall Of Famer Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: San Jose, CA USA Posts: 3,494	Are all the teams in question already running at a loss? From my experience in fictional, the AI will give you less money when you don't turn a profit (as is the case with this one), so I'm wondering if that's what's happening.

05-23-2015, 10:23 PM	#4
therealrebel14 Minors (Rookie Ball) Join Date: May 2015 Posts: 25	Thanks for the replies guys.. I am not the commissioner in this league but I foresee this as a major problem heading into the first offseason. Not being the commissioner obviously I can not see the other teams in depth finances like my own, but several other owners have been complaining that their budget is being slashed next year most agree that turning a profit is going to be nearly impossible for 85-90% of the teams. From the league reports - the only teams on pace to make a profit are the Brewers (just above $100,000) and Padres (about $5,000,000) @OakDragon - I'm not sure what role the AI plays in budget since owners are turned off in the league and we are able to use all revenue earned. @jaysdailydose - thanks, I thought about the media contract, but if it is changed will be retroactive or would it take place during the 2nd season?

05-23-2015, 10:57 PM	#7
NoOne Banned Join Date: Apr 2015 Posts: 7,273 Infractions: 0/1 (3)	on the main league settings page - with all the league functions - there is a option to assign new contracts to players. maybe try it on a restored backup to test it out before implementing it. like some said you can adjust national contract. you can also edit baselines for mechandise, local contracts, attendance, and i'm sure other things that you can do to augment the profit. also, maybe do a google search to determin on average how many mlb clubs turn a profit from year to year. this may be difficult to find accurate information. supposedly, in 2011 27/30 teams made money - thats likely an anomaly. in 2013 or 2014 revenue ranged from 175mill (hou) to 500+mill (nyy). i would be it's typically a fairly normal distribution curve.

05-23-2015, 11:27 PM	#9
Airdrop01 All Star Starter Join Date: May 2009 Location: Lenexa, KS / Wilson, WY Posts: 1,354	Probably shouldn't have spent $30M more than last year ($24M in increases and $6M in traded cash). I mean, that's almost 20% increase on an already massive $173M payroll the year before. If everybody did that, then why should the commissioner bail them out. The other teams that make money are going to get some free agent deals I guess.

05-24-2015, 03:23 AM	#14
therealrebel14 Minors (Rookie Ball) Join Date: May 2015 Posts: 25	From what I understand, playoff ticket prices are double the season ticket price, so assuming that this team plays 12-14 playoff games which presumably would be sell-outs it is possible that this team turns a minuscule profit - but the other playoff teams are projected to lose even more money so it would probably turn the pool of profitable teams from 2 to maybe 4 or 5.

05-24-2015, 03:35 AM	#15
Airdrop01 All Star Starter Join Date: May 2009 Location: Lenexa, KS / Wilson, WY Posts: 1,354	Amy way you can post each teams' payrolls? Are they all like the Tigers? (I'm colorblind so I have a hell of a time reading the plus and minuses by the way. I wish there were a colorblind fix in the game!

05-24-2015, 04:34 AM	#17
therealrebel14 Minors (Rookie Ball) Join Date: May 2015 Posts: 25	As a side note - despite tough economic times in the league, Upton wants 44M for an extension, Price wants 37M, and Latos wants 26M. Obviously I didn't plan on resigning them all - I was hoping for one of Price/Latos but without cash that is obviously all out the window.. Maybe I will have to pick up that Cliff Lee option after all And to think Price/Latos want Kershaw money is comical, way too rich for my blood, and I have no idea what Upton is smoking because he is not even performing to a 14M contract. Last edited by therealrebel14; 05-24-2015 at 04:35 AM.

05-24-2015, 12:14 PM	#18
Airdrop01 All Star Starter Join Date: May 2009 Location: Lenexa, KS / Wilson, WY Posts: 1,354	Man, probably by the time I think about this and go to Mass and do my family stuff, someone will have helped. I'll check back later today. Those revenue and expense numbers don't look crazy but the budgets do (to me but I'm very tired having slept 4 hours). I'll check back tonight having thought about it.

05-24-2015, 12:26 PM	#19
Matt Arnold OOTP Developer Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Here and there Posts: 15,851	Given those extension demands, I assume you're still playing on the 16.2 (?) patch? Updating to the newer patch will help those demands get more reasonable, and we've fixed a few issues in finances too to help smooth things out, including one I know in the case where we were incorrectly double counting things if play with all revenue available. I would definitely suggest updating to the new patch before budgets roll over to next year.