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Optimal Salaries?
 
hoospack
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Posted on 2020-06-24 7:59:24
I know this has been discussed in the past, but I can't seem to find the old posts about this topic.

What do you think the optimal range for salaries should be?

From my experience, salaries under $1M in Top Div will typically not be competitive. I think the sweet spot is around $1.5M but making sure you make long cup runs and finish in the top 5 of the league. Otherwise you won't have full stadiums and won't make money from the tickets.

My salaries got bloated last season and got as high as $2.2M at one point with lots of players that I was developing. So I sold a bunch of them off recently. I fell into the classic trap of wasting salaries on developing my "future team". But that cost me too much money.


What has worked for you?
  
Hard-core fan (ultimate supporter owner)simpathiaGI Supporter
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Posted on 2020-06-24 9:09:12
For Top Division Central Europe the cut-off is about $1.4M. Teams that spend less than that typically don't stay in. The best Division II teams are typically around $1.2M. Teams in the $1.2M - $1.4M range tend to bounce back and forth between Division II and Top Division.

The $1.4M figure is also close to what is sustainable in the long run. Teams that spend more than that typically run aground financially after a couple of seasons and then have to rebuild.
So I'd say for Central Europe the optimal salaries figure is about $1.4M, unless you're ok with boom-or-bust cycles.

The margin for error is small in Central Europe. With 31 teams spending $1M or more there is a lot of competition. Playing this game in Central Europe is tough, but I imagine being in Atlantic Europe is even tougher, with 39 teams spending $1M or more.

There is one exception to all of this in Central Europe, and that is New York Midgets. They have been spending about $2M per season for ages already, which they can sustain because they play AFLC every season. And of course they play AFLC every season because they can structurally spend much more than others on salaries.
  


SrednaDGI Supporter
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Posted on 2020-06-24 10:20:24
For the last 5 seasons in TD, I have had average salaries of:

Season 32: 1,2 million
Season 31: 1,3 million
Season 30: 1,4 million
Season 29: 1,4 million
Season 28: 1,3 million

And am making some money of it. I do monitor wages closely and have not had any players 'run loose' on training.

I have not been competitive all seasons, but I am here and not rebuilding every 6-8 seasons due to overspending.
  

"Quarterbacks should wear a dress." - Jack Lambert

If you are ever feeling down, just know that neither of Dorfenschmirtz's parents showed up to his birth.

bghandras
Posts: 841
Posted on 2020-06-24 10:44:11
I am spending about 1.1M on player wages in top division. 29th in Wages in Central Europe. An example for significant saving without huge performance blip:
player with str20, trained at 15 at all relevant skills, BMI of 42, playing both OL & DL. Since Strength is important for those positions, and BMI does not allow higher agility, i figured this is a pretty sweet spot, and great bang for the buck. There are other examples as well, but i think this encapsulates it.
  
LucaFGI Supporter
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Posted on 2020-06-24 11:23:31
It is my 8th season in top div in central europe and I keep salaries between $1.3-$1.5M.

In the past 7 seasons, CE has been dominated by the Midgets (4 championships and 3 cups) and the Gastronauts (2 championships and 1 cup). Both teams could afford higher salaries: the Midgets obtained 7 straight AFLC spots and the Gastronauts went all-in before retiring.

During these 7 seasons I went to AFLC two times, and this helped me to keep salaries a bit higher than the $1.4M sweet spot mentioned by simpathia, but not enough to costantly compete with the Midgets.

My current salary is $1,535,316 (5th in CE, 3rd in Top CE):

- $1,196,435 for 17 starters: 6 OFF+DEF, 5 OFF, 5 DEF, 1 K (avg. $70,300)

- $123,117 for 3 backups who will play next season/during the second part of the season if I am safe but not competing for the title (avg. $41,000)

- $215,764 for 24 players less than 25 years old (avg. $9,000)

  

IRON BOWL Winner S37
x2 Central Europe League Champion (S26 & S33)
x3 Central Europe Regional Cup Winner (S31, S34 & S36)
Norway NT - WC 30 Champion

Hard-core fan (ultimate supporter owner)BaphometGI Supporter
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Posted on 2020-06-24 12:00:30
I play my second DIV II Season
wages
S 32 - 885k (2nd Place)
S 33 - 860k (act 6th Place)

I´m far away from 1.1 Mio / 1.4 Mio average wages. Last season my stadium was sold out and my balance was a "black zero". This season my occupancy rate is 90%. I´m not able to spent more money for my team.



  

Swampland Golden Wyvern (founded 11/2016)
Winner DIV VI.218 (S24), DIV V.73 (S25), DIV IV.25 (S28), DIV III.9 (S31), DIV II.3 (S36), DIV II.1 (S40), TOP DIV (S42)
German HC S40 (Play Off), S42

hoospack
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Posted on 2020-06-24 18:11:00
Good feedback on the salaries. It is interesting to see the different financial dynamics required across the other Regions of G-I. As mentioned, I had a salary of $2.2M last season in NA TD but finished 6th in a division that went down to the final match of the season. However, I also had a huge financial savings that covered it, however dwindled as the season finished. This season I am paying much closer attention to saving every penny and maximizing the value of each player.

I really screwed myself last season by letting my developmental salaries get out of control. I didn't realize that I was losing about $500K-$600K in developmental players. I quite literally had 2 full teams that could play. It was unnecessary. Now I have slimmed my team WAY down and am trying to find that equilibrium between Top Div competitive team, skilled youth, and financial balance.

I have kept a few of my best developmental youth players on my roster that will be ready to play by next season and have allowed myself $150K in developmental salary. The rest will be starting players. My goal is to be in the $1.2M-$1.3M salary range. The key element is having cross-trained players. Based on my average ticket sales, this should be sustainable, competitive, and perhaps even mildly profitable if they perform well.
  
Hard-core fan (ultimate supporter owner)simpathiaGI Supporter
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Posted on 2020-06-24 23:06:26
Very nice to hear from LucaF
He and Liberalmente are the two examples that I want to follow.
They have had a stable presence in the Top Division for many seasons. That's my goal too
  


hoospack
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Posted on 2020-06-25 4:29:29
simpathia wrote:

Very nice to hear from LucaF
He and Liberalmente are the two examples that I want to follow.
They have had a stable presence in the Top Division for many seasons. That's my goal too



Don't be a follower.
Make your own path.
  
autumn89
Posts: 2200
Posted on 2020-06-25 5:23:06
hoospack wrote:

simpathia wrote:

Very nice to hear from LucaF
He and Liberalmente are the two examples that I want to follow.
They have had a stable presence in the Top Division for many seasons. That's my goal too



Don't be a follower.
Make your own path.



Sounds like the new Nike NFL slogan.
  
 
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