Does anyone have any insight into the minimum bonus that a player expects when renegotiating/signing a contract? In short, say I have a really good rookie that I know I will want to keep should I resign him now or on his final contract year? Will his minimum expected bonus increase as his current rating increases, as he accrues more stats, stay static, or is it based in something else entirely?

You can't actually renegotiate rookie contracts till year two. Then, if you offer him a minimum zero bonus deal the program will tell you the minimum bonus the player will accept to renegotiate. From there, there is a requirement that the prorated bonus amount not exceed 75% of the total hit for any one season, It sounds more complicated than it really is. It's really a player by player thing to me. Sometimes it makes sense to do it early, sometimes not. A rookie player will adjust his "demands" based on whether he booms or busts as well...

CM

Yeah that's basically what I'm asking is will it benefit me to resign him year 2 while his current is still not up to potential or will he ask for the same amount in year 2 as he would year 5

Players request money based on what comps are making so it all depends on their talent and what the market is like in that league. I think in general it makes the most sense to wait till the last season to extend a good young player (to avoid piling more bonus money on bonus money) and renegotiate the busts who are still useful to get the base salaries down...

CM

Offer the player no bonus money and when you click the contract button, a box pops up and tells you the minimum bonus that player will accept.

I wanna know if there is a way to accurately predict what his future minimum bonus will be. Is it based on anything measurable like current or future rating, production, or is it random? If it's based in current rating, it would make sense to sign a guy to a long term deal before he reaches potential.

Just remember salary demands increase in general every season because the total cap increases. While in the early seasons of a league, this increase is barely noticeable when you reach season 20 to 25 in some of the older leagues, the cap nears 400 million and contracts demands are hugh.

Short answer, the earlier you sign let's say an elite QB that boomed, the cheaper his bonus demand will be simply based on total cap

But the earlier you sign a player who is already under contract (remember bonus money never goes away), the more unnecessary money you are paying him. Essentially you are "double paying" him for seasons you had anyway. Also, in my experience, the older leagues that have the higher caps have more downward pressure on overall salaries relative to the cap just because the numbers seem so much larger. But really none of this matters all that much. The number of players who "boom" is usually small enough that paying them is really not a problem if you do it correctly and stand your ground on salary demands and overpaying veterans...

To answer your question. Yes. If you have a rookie who booms you would pay more of a bonus as he progresses year to year. So the bonus in yr two would be the cheapest and the bonus in year 5 would be the most expensive.

I try to sign them after year three that way they will be late 20s when that 5 yrs are up and then you can assess whether to drop that last big bonus on them.