Holdout Renegotiations

Players retiring before their MAX retirement year as listed below are considered "holdouts" rather than retired, dissatisfied with their current contract arrangement and unwilling to play for their team in the upcoming season unless their deal is restructured.

Position Max Age
QB 15
HB/FB 13
WR/TE 12
C/G/T 14
DE/DT 13
LB 14
CB/S 12
K 15
P 11


RESTRUCTURED CONTRACT SALARY GUIDELINES
GMs may elect to restructure the contracts of any "holdout" as follows:

A player making between $0.500 and $4.000 at the time of his holdout will end his holdout for a salary equivalent to 2x his previous salary (i.e. a player making $3.000 the prior season will earn $6.000 during the upcoming season under a Restructured Contract).

A player making more than $4.000 at the time of his holdout will end his holdout for an additional $4.000 per season (i.e. a player making $6.000 the prior season will earn $10.000 during the upcoming season under a Restructured Contract).

LEAGUE NOTIFICATION
GMs must notify the League Office of holdouts on their team who will receive Restructured Contracts by 9:00 p.m. ET on the Monday immediately following the conclusion of the Regular Season (Week 15; Round 1 of the Playoffs).

All submissions must be made using the Submit Restructured Contract link on the Team Page in the Management Console.

GMs reserve the right to restructure the contract of any player who holds out. By default players will not have their contracts restructured unless the contract is selected as such in the console. By not selecting a player using the link on the Team Page by the Monday deadline, the player's contract is not restructured and he officially retires from the USAFL.

GUARANTEED 1-YEAR CONTRACTS
A player with a Restructured Contract can NOT be cut by the team during the offseason in which he had his contract restructured (as is the case with rookie draft picks). In the first year of a restructured contract, the player will show on the team's roster with the "RN" designation and wiil not be eligible to be cut.

MULTIPLE HOLDOUTS
A player can hold out and have his contract restructured multiple times throughout his career.

UNLIMITED RESTRUCTURED CONTRACTS
Beyond salary cap constraints, there is no limit to the number of players a GM can offer Restructured Contracts to during a given season, or to the number of players on a team's roster that can have Restructured Contracts at any given time.

FREE AGENCY
A player currently showing YR 6 or YR 11 on the Team Roster who previously signed a Restructured Contract remains eligible for Free Agency that offseason, even if the player restructured his contract earlier that same offseason. As per existing Free Agency rules, a player who signed a Restructured Contract must be offered a Free Agency contract that is equal to, or greater than, his current salary at the time of Free Agency. If a YR 11 player that had previously signed a YR 6 Free Agent contract holds out for a new contract, because that player now earns a salary of $1.000 at the time of his holdout, the player will end his holdout for a salary of $2.000 and will still be eligible for Free Agency that same offseason.

FRANCHISE PLAYERS
A player currently showing YR 3 or YR 5 on the Team Roster who previously signed a Restructured Contract remains eligible to be designated a Franchise Player per the Franchise Player designation rules currently in place in the USAFL. Players who due to an earlier restrutured contract have a salary at or above the standard FP salary ($6 for FP3 and $10 for FP5) will have their current salary increased by $2 at the time of Franchise Player designation. A current Franchise Player who signs a Restructured Contract will retain his "FP" designation in the Team Management console, and will continue to count towards that team's allowed allotment of FP contracts for as long as the player is with the team.

TRADES
A player with a Restructured Contract can be traded at any time per existing USAFL rules and related deadlines.

ROSTER CUTS
A player with a past Restructured Contract who is officially released on the Roster Cut Deadline can be claimed by any other team later that offseason as a Waiver Claim in WWC for the veteran salary of 1.000. If that player is not claimed in WWC then he will officially retire from the USAFL.