FA demands - greater decline over time

[QuikSand]

After playing FOF 200k for a while, it's clear that there have been some changes to the way the game calculates player "demands" -- the kind of contract they seek via free agency. Personally, I think this is a change for the better, on the whole.

However, I think there is one additional wrinkle that would increase playability even further. I'd like to see more "movement" in free agent demands as the 20-stage free agent process continues.

Currently, if a given player is a multi-year starter who now is a UFA, he will probably seek something like (just an example) $3m per year for three years, with some bonus money figured in. As the 20-stage period goes on, he'll either be judged to be worth that kind of money (by the CPU managers and the human gamer) or not.

The players who are not signed fairly quickly in the FA period tend to drop their demands a bit-- perhaps by 25% or so over the course of the 20-stage period. (That's just an eyeball estimate - not measured precisely)

I think that the game's overall balance might be improved if these player demands dropped off at a steeper rate-particularly after the first ten or so weeks of the FA period were concluded. Theoreticaly, these players ought to now realize that their services are not as highly coveted as they thought, and they should perhaps moderate their demands in order to remain employed. A reduced demand (in dollars) may mean a shorter contract duration sought-- that might be an appropriate trade off. However, it seems a little unrealistic that a sizable number of decent-quality players simply sit through the entire FA process and go completely unclaimed, and never really fundamentally change their expectations.

Consider the demands of the example player mentioned above:

Current system (approximately)
Week 1: 3yrs, $9m
Week 10: 3yrs, $8.5m
Week 20: 3yrs, $8m

Proposed system (approximately)
Week 1: 3 yrs, $12m
Week 10: 3 yrs, $6m
Week 20: 1 yr, $1m

I think a system like this (coupled with some needed tighetning of the free agents available outside the 20-stage process) might make for a more interesting experience for the gamer (sort of a Filene's basement system-- grab him now or wait for the price to drop more?) and also a more balanced challenge overall.

I also think that there should be a pretty serious "premium" paid for the very best players-- probably more than exists in the current game. I'm too often finding that a player with flawless ratings and another decent starter at the same position will have demands that are very near one another-- my fear is that over time, the human gamer will be wiser in spending on the top guys, while the CPU teams will not properly identify the difference, and will stock up on fat salaries for decent players, missing out on the creme de la creme.

Just a few thoughts-- not sure if these are appropriate for a patch or a new version, or if I'm just whistlin' Dixie.