First, let me say if this is not allowed Mods please let me know. I just intend for this to be a thought experiment on how my player would be viewed by potential GMs as my contract tolls at the end of this season. I do not intend for this to be a "hey come get me" post or anything like that, just something I was thinking about before the season end.
Evaluating a potential free agent is something that is difficult for general managers in the league. The GM needs to consider a wide range of factors in this evaluation including player characteristics, team dynamics and financial restrictions. As my rookie contract is about to expire I wanted to think through how an GM might evaluate my player and present that to all of you. I will be looking at this through the lense of a GM who would be resigning a player and one who would be looking at a player who is a free agent.
Player Characteristics
I think the first player characteristic a GM would look at when evaluating a player is simply the amount of TPE earned up to this point. For Zach Crossley, that number as of writing stands at 675 TPE. The number in itself is not yet relevant until we compare it to the average TPE of players at Crossley's position, Wide Receiver. The average TPE for a WR in the ISFL currently stands at 819. This put Crossley about 150 TPE below the average for the position and thus based on this one metric makes it seem like Crossley would plug in as a WR #3 on most teams and WR#2 on others.
However, TPE is not a static measure as many things dictate a player's TPE in the future. First and foremost would be the historic earning rate for the player and if that would continue moving forward. For Crossley, he came out of the gate strong hitting all TPE posts and purchasing tier 5 equipment in his first season. Earnings have decreased in seasons following his first season however he has remained active the whole time. Crossley has some missing PT threads and prediction threads as well but overall he is currently 38th in his class for TPE which is about on the lower end of average given the size of the season 25 class. It seems the player is likely to continue this average earning trend and continue to make their way up the TPE ladder as the seasons progress, giving Crossley a bit more value.
Player strategies for making money also should be accounted for when evaluating a player as they are such an important part of TPE earning. Players need money to purchase training and equipment which is the biggest separation of TPE in the league. Crossley is fairly mediocre when it comes to earning money in the league. He tends to post media every so often which allows him to fund his training which has been at the +5 TPE level since joining the league. However, he does little else to earn the ever so important currency. Twitter use has moved from sporadic to non-existent and he has never held or applied for a league job to earn some spare money. There are absolutely concerns over the player's ability to make money and fund his TPE development moving forward.
Another key aspect of evaluating a player is examining how far they are away from regression. Given his status as a S25 create, Crossley has a few more seasons left until he starts to lose TPE to regression. This has to be comforting to a GM looking at the player as he can only get better during his contract with the team. GMs should consider this one of the main positives in potentially bringing the player into their locker room.
Outside of strict TPE, GMs may consider on the field production as a way to help evaluate a player. At this point in the season, Crossley has 887 receiving yards for the Sabercats. This puts him firmly in the 20 - 30 range for WRs production this season. Crossley does feature as the second WR for the Sabercats and thus his statistics might be inflated relative to his actual TPE. However given SJS's position as a near bottom of the league passing attack, it is likely the player could have had a bigger on the field impact in a more pass heavy offense.
Another thing that any self-respecting GM would consider is the off the field impact a player can make. This would include things such as locker room presence or help with simming and game planning. From all reports Crossley seems to be a relatively quiet but positive locker room presence. He is normally there to watch his team's game and celebrate the wins or commiserate with the losses. He also has many pieces of media hyping up various teammates and their accomplishments within the league. Crossley gives you absolutely zero value however when it comes to game planning. He has not helped his team in that department on the ISFL or DSFL level and given he does not own a copy of the simulation software this is unlikely to change in the future.
The final aspect of player characteristics would be personality and goals. From all accounts pre-draft Crossley told scouts that he did not care about individual statistics and instead wanted to compete for championships. There has been no inclination that has changed especially since Crossley was willing to stay in the DSFL for a second season. If he continues to be a team first player Crossley should accept any role that is presented to him and thus be an asset to the team he joins.
Team Dynamics
M
There is more to just a players abilities that needs to be considered when looking at signing a player. Teams also need to consider the positional needs of their team. When looking at Crossley he benefits from the fact that he plays WR, a position that requires at least three people to field a team. It is also however one of the most popular positions in the league indicating that there is always a large number of current players and likely a future stream of players vying for a position in the league. Crossley is also specifically a slot receiver build. I think this may work out to his advantage compared to other WRs specifically due to the flexibility of being a kick or punt returner. The player has the ability to increase his agility up to 95 which should help him be a prime kick returner for any team that signs him if they choose to go in that direction.
On his current team, Crossley is a WR number two who is putting up stats that warrant that position. He is very far away from his teammate Hood in TPE so there is no chance of taking over the first WR slot in the future. Complicating things is also the addition of Tugg Speedman who is one of the top earns from the S26 class and the same archetype as Crossley. Whether the Sabercats are fine running two slot WRs or would prefer to find a different type is an interesting question that may dictate the future of Crossley.
Financial Restrictions
As we all know, there is a salary cap that restricts the abilities of GMs in the ISFL. How much and for how long a player signs is likely on the forefront of the minds of all GMs in the league. Evaluating Crossley from a monetary prospective is relatively straightforward. His past contract was slightly above the minimum required so it seems he does not have unreasonable requests and should be affordable. However GMs with a bit more wiggle room in the budget may considering chipping in extra money to make sure Crossley covers his trainings or possibly strives for some low tier equipment to help his TPE earning.
Final Verdicts
San Jose Sabercats: The Sabercats brought Crossley in with the 42nd pick in the S25 draft and he is now the 38th highest TPE earner from that class. That is decent value for the pick and the Sabercats should pat themselves on the back. He is not nearly as successful as the other 3 members of his team from that draft but Crossley still can help build a team that centers around a strong class in the future. As mentioned before however, the player may have become redundant with the addition of Speedman to the team.
Verdict: The value to the Sabercats provided by Crossley would suggest he is worth at least attempting to re-sign. He is another solid member of a stellar class that could be the cornerstone of the franchise after the S22 and S21 players are hit hard by regression. While he is a bit unnecessary at slot receiver, the stats are there to warrant an offer. I think the team should see if there are other suitable replacements before extending an offer but be happy with the homegrown talent if there is not
Other ISFL teams:
If Crossley is to hit the open market I do think teams will be interested in signing him if the price is right. He will be able to come in and help contribute at some level and that should be attractive enough for teams.
Verdict: Crossley is likely to be worth a flier for another team at just above the minimum contract value. Don't ever expect him to be your WR #1 but he could blossom in to a fantastic WR #2 if paired with the correct offense and he continues his TPE earning.
Evaluating a potential free agent is something that is difficult for general managers in the league. The GM needs to consider a wide range of factors in this evaluation including player characteristics, team dynamics and financial restrictions. As my rookie contract is about to expire I wanted to think through how an GM might evaluate my player and present that to all of you. I will be looking at this through the lense of a GM who would be resigning a player and one who would be looking at a player who is a free agent.
Player Characteristics
I think the first player characteristic a GM would look at when evaluating a player is simply the amount of TPE earned up to this point. For Zach Crossley, that number as of writing stands at 675 TPE. The number in itself is not yet relevant until we compare it to the average TPE of players at Crossley's position, Wide Receiver. The average TPE for a WR in the ISFL currently stands at 819. This put Crossley about 150 TPE below the average for the position and thus based on this one metric makes it seem like Crossley would plug in as a WR #3 on most teams and WR#2 on others.
However, TPE is not a static measure as many things dictate a player's TPE in the future. First and foremost would be the historic earning rate for the player and if that would continue moving forward. For Crossley, he came out of the gate strong hitting all TPE posts and purchasing tier 5 equipment in his first season. Earnings have decreased in seasons following his first season however he has remained active the whole time. Crossley has some missing PT threads and prediction threads as well but overall he is currently 38th in his class for TPE which is about on the lower end of average given the size of the season 25 class. It seems the player is likely to continue this average earning trend and continue to make their way up the TPE ladder as the seasons progress, giving Crossley a bit more value.
Player strategies for making money also should be accounted for when evaluating a player as they are such an important part of TPE earning. Players need money to purchase training and equipment which is the biggest separation of TPE in the league. Crossley is fairly mediocre when it comes to earning money in the league. He tends to post media every so often which allows him to fund his training which has been at the +5 TPE level since joining the league. However, he does little else to earn the ever so important currency. Twitter use has moved from sporadic to non-existent and he has never held or applied for a league job to earn some spare money. There are absolutely concerns over the player's ability to make money and fund his TPE development moving forward.
Another key aspect of evaluating a player is examining how far they are away from regression. Given his status as a S25 create, Crossley has a few more seasons left until he starts to lose TPE to regression. This has to be comforting to a GM looking at the player as he can only get better during his contract with the team. GMs should consider this one of the main positives in potentially bringing the player into their locker room.
Outside of strict TPE, GMs may consider on the field production as a way to help evaluate a player. At this point in the season, Crossley has 887 receiving yards for the Sabercats. This puts him firmly in the 20 - 30 range for WRs production this season. Crossley does feature as the second WR for the Sabercats and thus his statistics might be inflated relative to his actual TPE. However given SJS's position as a near bottom of the league passing attack, it is likely the player could have had a bigger on the field impact in a more pass heavy offense.
Another thing that any self-respecting GM would consider is the off the field impact a player can make. This would include things such as locker room presence or help with simming and game planning. From all reports Crossley seems to be a relatively quiet but positive locker room presence. He is normally there to watch his team's game and celebrate the wins or commiserate with the losses. He also has many pieces of media hyping up various teammates and their accomplishments within the league. Crossley gives you absolutely zero value however when it comes to game planning. He has not helped his team in that department on the ISFL or DSFL level and given he does not own a copy of the simulation software this is unlikely to change in the future.
The final aspect of player characteristics would be personality and goals. From all accounts pre-draft Crossley told scouts that he did not care about individual statistics and instead wanted to compete for championships. There has been no inclination that has changed especially since Crossley was willing to stay in the DSFL for a second season. If he continues to be a team first player Crossley should accept any role that is presented to him and thus be an asset to the team he joins.
Team Dynamics
M
There is more to just a players abilities that needs to be considered when looking at signing a player. Teams also need to consider the positional needs of their team. When looking at Crossley he benefits from the fact that he plays WR, a position that requires at least three people to field a team. It is also however one of the most popular positions in the league indicating that there is always a large number of current players and likely a future stream of players vying for a position in the league. Crossley is also specifically a slot receiver build. I think this may work out to his advantage compared to other WRs specifically due to the flexibility of being a kick or punt returner. The player has the ability to increase his agility up to 95 which should help him be a prime kick returner for any team that signs him if they choose to go in that direction.
On his current team, Crossley is a WR number two who is putting up stats that warrant that position. He is very far away from his teammate Hood in TPE so there is no chance of taking over the first WR slot in the future. Complicating things is also the addition of Tugg Speedman who is one of the top earns from the S26 class and the same archetype as Crossley. Whether the Sabercats are fine running two slot WRs or would prefer to find a different type is an interesting question that may dictate the future of Crossley.
Financial Restrictions
As we all know, there is a salary cap that restricts the abilities of GMs in the ISFL. How much and for how long a player signs is likely on the forefront of the minds of all GMs in the league. Evaluating Crossley from a monetary prospective is relatively straightforward. His past contract was slightly above the minimum required so it seems he does not have unreasonable requests and should be affordable. However GMs with a bit more wiggle room in the budget may considering chipping in extra money to make sure Crossley covers his trainings or possibly strives for some low tier equipment to help his TPE earning.
Final Verdicts
San Jose Sabercats: The Sabercats brought Crossley in with the 42nd pick in the S25 draft and he is now the 38th highest TPE earner from that class. That is decent value for the pick and the Sabercats should pat themselves on the back. He is not nearly as successful as the other 3 members of his team from that draft but Crossley still can help build a team that centers around a strong class in the future. As mentioned before however, the player may have become redundant with the addition of Speedman to the team.
Verdict: The value to the Sabercats provided by Crossley would suggest he is worth at least attempting to re-sign. He is another solid member of a stellar class that could be the cornerstone of the franchise after the S22 and S21 players are hit hard by regression. While he is a bit unnecessary at slot receiver, the stats are there to warrant an offer. I think the team should see if there are other suitable replacements before extending an offer but be happy with the homegrown talent if there is not
Other ISFL teams:
If Crossley is to hit the open market I do think teams will be interested in signing him if the price is right. He will be able to come in and help contribute at some level and that should be attractive enough for teams.
Verdict: Crossley is likely to be worth a flier for another team at just above the minimum contract value. Don't ever expect him to be your WR #1 but he could blossom in to a fantastic WR #2 if paired with the correct offense and he continues his TPE earning.