Fan Interest penalties
League rules require teams to make strides towards profitability. There are two circumstances which can trigger financial-related Fan Interest penalties:
- Losses beyond -$25,000,000 are erased upon the end of a season, but there is a penalty to fan interest for every $5M below -$25M a team ends a season with.
- The first time a team ends a season in the red, the team goes "on watch." Until the team finishes a season in the black, the team will suffer a fan interest penalty at the conclusion of every subsequent year in which it:
- Remains in the red, AND;
- Fails to make progress towards break-even cash on hand.
- Aurora
- San Antonio
- Arlington
- Canton
- Charleston
- Connecticut
- Crystal Lake
Teams are evaluated in a number of different areas related to on-the-field performance. All evaluative criteria are examined over a one, three and six-year period, with greatest weight placed on three-year performance. Team data is entered into a custom formula that generates a percent chance for Fan Loyalty and Market Size gain/loss for each team. While many teams will have only a chance to gain or lose ground, some teams may have a chance for both, while others may have no chance to change whatsoever.
Once the percentages are generated, a roll is made against the gain/loss chances for each team; one roll each for Fan Loyalty and Market Size. A "failed" roll is one that is within the percentage chance for loss, while a "passed" roll is one that is within the percentage chance for gain. Whenever a roll fails or passes, there will be a one-level adjustment down/up in the applicable area for that team. Because Fan Loyalty and Market Size each get their own roll, it is possible for a team to experience a drop in one area and a gain in another.
The system is designed to produce a modest number of changes per year (it may produce no changes in some years). There is also protection against rapid changes. A minimum of two seasons must pass between fan loyalty changes and a minimum of three seasons must pass between market size changes. Finally, winning the Planetary Extreme Championship grants you exemption from Fan Loyalty/Market Size drops for three seasons.
Performance-based adjustments are completely independent of OOTP adjustments. It is entirely possible for a team to receive a Fan Loyalty/Market Size increase/decrease from both OOTP and performance-based adjustments in the same season. OOTP-generated status changes do not preclude performance-based adjustments under any circumstances.
In 2017, the following teams experienced performance-based Fan Loyalty/Market Size adjustments that will be reflected in our next sim:
- Canton: Fan Loyalty DROPS to "Average"
- Fargo: Market Size INCREASES to "Big"
- Kalamazoo: Market Size DROPS to "Above Avg."
- New Jersey: Fan Loyalty INCREASES to "Great"
- New Jersey: Market Size INCREASES to "HUGE"
- Tempe: Market Size INCREASES to "Tiny"