Long Term Roster Expansion and Injuries

Let's take a look at the long term plan for Roster Expansion and a new way we will be managing injuries.

Currently the league sits at 176 players spread over 6 teams so an average of about 30 players under contract per team. In APF there are 42 player on each roster. This is your Active Roster. But since we only currently have about 30 players per team the blank spots are filled by generic players. We don't track their stats and they don't count against the cap. They are simply fillers.

The Issue

The roster constraints of APF cause some issues when it comes to injuries. For example, an injured player must be removed from the roster and replaced by a generic filler. As a team owner this poses a problem when trying to fill depth. Since you can only have a set number of players at each position injures will naturally deplete your core to a degree that can be unrealistic. It can be hard to afford to sign a replacement because you already filled your roster with players you planned to start.

Our solution is threefold and will take a little time to fully implement.

Part 1 - LTIR

LITR or Long Term Injured Reserve will help free up some cap for teams hit by long term injuries. If you are a hockey fan I'm sure you're at least somewhat familiar with this concept. While it will be implemented in this league slightly differently the same principles apply. To be placed on LTIR a player must be ruled out for 10 weeks or more. Once placed on LTIR, the team will be relieved of up to 15 million dollars of salary for the duration the player is on LTIR. Anything above the 15 mil cap will continue to count against the team salary cap.

Part 2 - Roster Expansion

Over the course of the next few seasons the goal is for all teams have a 42 man active roster of contract players. Once we reach 350 players in the league (including Free Agents) all teams will be required to carry 42 players on their active roster at all times. Expect the salary cap to raise each season to accommodate the bigger rosters.

Part 3 - Taxi Squad

Once part 2 is complete we will introduce the Taxi Squad. Every team will be granted a 8 man "extras" roster. Players on the Taxi squad will be the first call ups to replace injured players on the team. There is no penalty for cutting players on the Taxi Squad. If you would like to send a player from your active roster to the Taxi squad he must clear waivers.

Hope everyone is as interested to see how this plays out as me. If you have any questions or ideas ping me in chat.