For the "pullback" option- how does that work in real time? Would every pick need to be followed by a window where the original team could pull a player back? If so, that could take a long time...
The way we did the draft in the NPBL, the expansion teams could only pick one person from each team ( i.e. you could only lose one per round). Then there would be a tread for each team to protect two more players, and round two would happen.
Below were the rules:
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?Each division will add 1 team, so the FFL and GEL will each be made up of 2 7-team divisions.
?The new teams will begin play in the 2027 season.
?The amatuer draft will be extended to 5 rounds (generate 6) for the 2027, 2028, 2029, 2030 and 2031 seasons. There will be an adjustment made to the incoming talent so that we won't have too many talented players in the league afterwords.
?The expansion teams will first be opened to current owners, before being offered to the general public. If more than 4 current owners want expansion teams, we would assign the teams based on who has the longest NPBL tenure. Owners will be announced late 2026, most likely just after the trade deadline.
?The expansion teams will only draft from teams in their respective league, and each current team will lose 5 players, giving each expansion team 30 players + their 5 draft picks and any signed free agents.
?The expansion teams will pick between the non-playoff and playoff teams during the 2027 amatuer draft.
?Each current team would protect 15 players, then 3 more after each of the remainding 'rounds'. Each team would lose exactly one player per 'round'. The number of pullbacks could be adjusted on a team-by-team basis if the club has fewer than 32 eligible players, but in the end, each team will lose exactly 5 players.
?Players drafted in 2023 or later and have fewer than 172 days (1 year) of Big-League Service will not be eligible for the draft.
?The expansion draft (there will really be two, one per league) will consist of 5 rounds, with each team losing 1 player per round. Who picks first in each round would look like this:
Round 1 - Team X
Round 2 - Team Y
Round 3 - Team Y
Round 4 - Team X
Round 5 - Team Y