I am talking about like a boatload of cash.

A few reasons most likely.

1. They re-sign their players to the minimum they will accept instead of just giving them what is displayed when the contract window pops up.

EX: Currently the players only care about the bonus. So give them the bonus they demand on a 6 year deal (unless they are close to retiring), then give them the minimum you can for the base salary.

2. They don't over huge deals to players who might retire soon.

3. They don't overpay for a bunch of FAs.

I asked myself the same question. Some teams I have taken over seem to have barely enough for the draft, never mind signing a good FA, and I observe owners that seem to have many, many millions of dollars throughout the season (and plenty of talent). I spent some time researching, to try and find out why and bottom line, I came up with...

They are very good owners!

Here is my take on what those owners do and I would love it if some of those owners (you know who you are) would comment on whether I'm on the right track.

1.) Don't overpay for low-mid rated players. There are plenty of these players available.
2.) Trade or release those that can be replaced by a FA signed at/near the minimum cost.
3.) Load up on draft picks. Those that work out, keep until their abilities drop or a better offer comes in, those that don't, dump them and move on.
4.) Always keep an eye on the FA market. Owners drop players throughout the season and there are some pretty good pickups for a good price.
5.) Depth at many positions. This allows you to look to the future and do some of the work above, without worrying about if a position is going to hurt your team in a game.

That is my take. Thoughts owners?

No. 1 is the most important with the biggest impact on your cap.

Other than signing FAs to ridiculous contracts.

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I can never understand why teams will give free agents 60 million bonus money over 6 years...

Seems like a good time to plug my contract extension wizard again: https://cust10.myfootballnow.com/community/thread/1/2525?page=1#18236

Love the contract extension wizard! Thanks for sharing!

I find that the few big FA players that I sign usually turn out to be average players. I guess there is a reason why they are FAs. They might have all the ratings you want but they just don't play at that high of a level.

Home grown talent is the best or a trade or two.

Cause I'm a tightwad and refuse to overpay a bunch of whining blips.