Lalit Modi

And so a highly effective argument for a quarterback to take less money up front than they might otherwise is to say like, hey, we've got a window right now. We've got some star wide receivers. We've got a star running back. We've got some star defensive players. We'll give you a big contract and we'll guarantee your money out in the out years.

And so a highly effective argument for a quarterback to take less money up front than they might otherwise is to say like, hey, we've got a window right now. We've got some star wide receivers. We've got a star running back. We've got some star defensive players. We'll give you a big contract and we'll guarantee your money out in the out years.

But if you take less money in these early years to allow us to keep, to retain, or go get some key weapons for you in the parlance of the NFL, you know, some receivers for you, be a team player here, right? Yeah. This stuff happens all the time.

But if you take less money in these early years to allow us to keep, to retain, or go get some key weapons for you in the parlance of the NFL, you know, some receivers for you, be a team player here, right? Yeah. This stuff happens all the time.

So the great beauty of the auction that Lollett sets up is that he sets both a maximum spend, a purse for every team coming into the auction, and a minimum spend. And that minimum's like 75% of cap, right? 75% of the maximum. And he sets the maximum at a level that keeps every team in the black. So he knows now what the central TV rate and sponsorship dollars are that are coming in.

So the great beauty of the auction that Lollett sets up is that he sets both a maximum spend, a purse for every team coming into the auction, and a minimum spend. And that minimum's like 75% of cap, right? 75% of the maximum. And he sets the maximum at a level that keeps every team in the black. So he knows now what the central TV rate and sponsorship dollars are that are coming in.

He knows what the franchise fees that all the owners are going to be paying are. So he can basically mastermind all of their P&Ls. And he sets... the maximum that you can spend in the auction such that every team is still going to be profitable.

He knows what the franchise fees that all the owners are going to be paying are. So he can basically mastermind all of their P&Ls. And he sets... the maximum that you can spend in the auction such that every team is still going to be profitable.

And then he also sets the minimum spend so that one team doesn't say like, oh, hey, I want to be super profitable and I'm only going to buy scrubs at the auction and have a really low salary base.

And then he also sets the minimum spend so that one team doesn't say like, oh, hey, I want to be super profitable and I'm only going to buy scrubs at the auction and have a really low salary base.

Now, you might think, wait a minute, an auction, that seems like it's going to be way more susceptible to the stuff you were just talking about, David, with the salary cap and all the deals and incentives that are happening outside. No, it avoids all of that because it collapses everything down to a single point in time, everybody in the same room with the same finite resources.

Now, you might think, wait a minute, an auction, that seems like it's going to be way more susceptible to the stuff you were just talking about, David, with the salary cap and all the deals and incentives that are happening outside. No, it avoids all of that because it collapses everything down to a single point in time, everybody in the same room with the same finite resources.

It turns it into a monopoly game. It doesn't matter what happens outside the room. Sure, the owners could say, oh, my star player, you come play for me. I'm going to give you an endorsement deal worth millions of dollars. Sure. No problem. That doesn't get you any more resources to spend at the auction.

It turns it into a monopoly game. It doesn't matter what happens outside the room. Sure, the owners could say, oh, my star player, you come play for me. I'm going to give you an endorsement deal worth millions of dollars. Sure. No problem. That doesn't get you any more resources to spend at the auction.

You can collude all you want and it will never work because everyone goes for their market value because an auction is a point of time event that maximizes market value for each asset. Right. And the order that players come up, they come up in lots, and then the order within those lots is randomized.

You can collude all you want and it will never work because everyone goes for their market value because an auction is a point of time event that maximizes market value for each asset. Right. And the order that players come up, they come up in lots, and then the order within those lots is randomized.

And it is all architected in a way such that the only way for a team to gain an advantage over any other team in the auction is to have superior market intelligence, which has come to mean have superior analytics and superior player evaluation. So in the first year of the league...

And it is all architected in a way such that the only way for a team to gain an advantage over any other team in the auction is to have superior market intelligence, which has come to mean have superior analytics and superior player evaluation. So in the first year of the league...

The Rajasthan Royals, who have the lowest salary, they actually don't hit the minimum salary and they get fined by Lollet. So the maximum salary that he sets for year one is $5 million, or maximum purse for the auction. And then that means the minimum purse is, I think, $3.3 million. The Royals don't even hit $3.3 million. They're so cheap.

The Rajasthan Royals, who have the lowest salary, they actually don't hit the minimum salary and they get fined by Lollet. So the maximum salary that he sets for year one is $5 million, or maximum purse for the auction. And then that means the minimum purse is, I think, $3.3 million. The Royals don't even hit $3.3 million. They're so cheap.