[quote name='bvharris']Do you know how the bidding process works? Do you just make your one offer and that's it, or is there an opportunity to counter-offer if someone outbids you?[/QUOTE]
So i'll just go through the entire off season process for those that don't know. First off, scouting points can accumulate and won't be reset until after the draft. I personally like to actually save all my points until right before the rookie draft and do all my scouting then.
So step one after the Superbowl(this might happen whenever you get eliminated from the playoffs so make sure to look for it) is to sign your contract extension/gain levels and get xp for your coach if you have met your ultimate goal. You must click on this improve the level of your coach and collect the xp.
Then you have one week where you get one last chance to negotiate and resign your own players. Players that you have ended negotiations with during the season, will not negotiate with you here.
After that week has advanced there is the first week of free agency. This is where everyone goes in and gives their initial contract to the free agents. In the free agency screen you can see what teams are interested in the F.a and you can see what he believes his market value is. So far, i have not been able to find anywhere that tells you what the other users are offering.
The next week is the second week of free agency, which also gives you a chance to scout. Typically, if multiple teams are trying to get the same free agent, that free agent will narrow his list down of the teams he is interested in. You can then see his list of teams he narrowed it down too, so then you can decide if you need to up the ante on your offer or leave it as is. If say in week one of free agency you were the only person interested in a person, or your offer just blows them away then they may sign in between week 1 and week 2 of free agency.
The next week is the third and final week of free agency, this once again gives you more scouting time/scouting points. It works how week two did, he narrows down his list and only accepts if your the only one or he got an offer that blew him away. But keep in mind this is your last chance to put in a offer, once it is progressed past this week all the free agents with offers will make there final decision.
The next week is just more scouting time/scouting points. This is the last opportunity you'll have to do any scouting before the draft.
The next week is the rookie draft, i'm sure you guys will learn more about how that goes once you actually do it. The nice feature is that the commissioner can pause it at anytime.
The next week is basically a recap of the draft and gives you all the contract info for your rookies. The rookies are all on a pay scale and are signed automatically. The game actually puts aside salary cap that you can't use, because it saves it for the rookies cap room.
After that you are into the next preseason.