New to crossword construction, but I had a lot of fun (as well as some frustration) along the way. Proud of myself for having followed through, even though I know this one is gnarly in some spots.
I've noticed that when I have a young player who isn't currently performing well, but has high potential, they'll request something crazy, like $20 million/3 years. I understand the mechanic, but I also think it's unrealistic. Like, you are currently a 48 overall, you average 7 PPG and have a PER of 11. There's no world in which I'm giving you a $60 million contract in real life. But because you're 25 and have a potential of 65 (which you may or may not even get close to depending on pure luck), that's the demand. It forces you to be way more risk-friendly than an actual GM would be.
Maybe there could be some kind of more complex potential system--so that it's not totally random? Like maybe there could be an "odds this player will fulfill potential" metric? That way the contract negotiations with these kinds of players wouldn't always come down to "do I feel like taking a gamble on this guy?" It's true that you've got your coaching expense, but even when that's maxed out, it has a less-than-10% effect on whether or not there is progression.