You're the Owner/GM! (7/16/2012)

[Senser81]

You're the Owner/GM!

You own the 1962 Denver Broncos! You are one of the weakest teams in the new AFL, and you need to get better to avoid financial ruin.

Your league has decided not to sign established NFL players, so instead you will battle the NFL teams for the top college players in the land. Unfortunately, your organization isn't very strong and your record last year was 3-11. How will you survive these draft wars?

Very few people are taking your team seriously. If you don't put together a respectable team soon, the Broncos may fold. What is your plan?

#1 - Draft the top players and go all out to sign them

#2 - Draft capable but less spectacular players whom you are sure to sign

#3 - Trade your draft choices for veteran players

 

[FirstTimer]

#3

IMO in that era veterans were a much safer commodity than draft picks. I know technically they still are today but with the way scouting has exploded I think the gap is MUCH less wide than it was then. Obviously I'm using hindsight to judge all this so it's not really fair but I'd go with #3.

 

[KINGOFOOTBALL]

#3
2 issues with free agency are how bringing in one guy can prevent the other worthy guy from being brought in because of salary issues. The other is that unique systems can put a damper on a guys progress or flat out make him a bust if he doesnt fit. I dont think either of those issues would have been there back then. Id go with the established guys.

 

[Senser81]

The Broncos chose option #1. From 1962 - 1966 they drafted many star NFL players, including 3 HOFers in Dick Butkus, Bob Brown, and Merlin Olsen. Unfortunately, the Broncos weren't able to sign any of these players and continued to be mediocre. It wasn't until the AFL-NFL merger and the common player draft that the Broncos were able to sign their draft choices.

 

[dell71]

Combo of options 2 & 3 would probably be best, but went with option #3. Read a book on the AFL a few months back. The bidding war for talent between the two leagues was outlandish. There were stories of GMs practically kidnapping players and hiding them from the other league until they could get a deal done and players playing the two against each other for money, gifts, etc.

 

[Senser81]

Combo of options 2 & 3 would probably be best, but went with option #3. Read a book on the AFL a few months back. The bidding war for talent between the two leagues was outlandish. There were stories of GMs practically kidnapping players and hiding them from the other league until they could get a deal done and players playing the two against each other for money, gifts, etc.

I think the bidding war in the NFL was the catalyst for the labor strife/free agency in the MLB a few years later. For years both baseball and football owners would claim they were just barely breaking even while paying players $10k - $20k a year. Then all of the sudden in football you have owners being able to pay players $400k a year. Kind of funny. You'd have an established star like Jim Taylor of the Packers making $20k a year, then a rookie like Donnie Anderson would come in, be Taylor's backup, and make $500k a year...25 times the amount of Taylor's salary.

 

[packersfan4eva]

If one great commodity signs with a team, it might not add the wins immediately, but your team just became 10 times more legitimate. A top pick signing with a struggling AFL team opens the door for other players wanting to join the team. I'd go #1