Last updated: 7/16/22
**CONFIDENTIAL**
This is for Football Absurdity readers only. If you are a member of my Big Money League KEEP OUT!
In 2019 I was bummed: I hadn’t made the finals of my 14-team main league in 9 years. So I invented Toolbox Bench theory. I invented BBQ salary cap strategy (the 2022 BBQ strat will debut later this week). I’ve now made the finals in three straight years with two ‘ships.
I don’t make trades. I don’t scour the waiver wire obsessively. I’m frankly kind of a mediocre regular season manager. I owe my success to 3 things: BBQ, Toolbox, and my preseason player valuation. Or really I should say “devaluation,” as I only manage to find 2-3 breakouts per year. I just never bust. The key is being super sour on 4/5ths of the field. So if you don’t see a guy on here, it doesn’t mean I think he’s worthless. It means I’ve written off ever getting them for a value that I find to be worth it, because he’ll never go that low.
This chart is just my own personal opinion. If you want to form your own takes, but also know how much you “should” bid for every single player, check out my main 2022 salary cap values chart.
It’s important to note how I use this chart. The first thing is I make tiers. If you’re not making tiers, you are not giving yourself a key salary cap draft advantage. See, while managers have differing opinions on various players, they all usually have very similar tier lists. If you’re down to the last guy in your tier, say top running backs, all it takes is one other manager who also has that guy as their last top running back, and you’ll both bid each other up like crazy.
So I make tiers, and when it gets down to the last 2 or 3, I pounce: Bidding a few dollars more than the listed value. That way I get a key tier filled even if it costs a few bucks more, as opposed to way overbidding on the last guy or <shudder> not rostering a guy I want.
So here’s where I stand in terms of 2022 Salary Cap Values. Please note that, even though my BML is 14-teams, this chart is for 12-teamers (HPPR). For leagues with greater or fewer managers, adjust based on % (subtract 20% for 10 teamers, add 20% for 14 teamers should give you a functional enough estimate).
Check back often, as I plan to update this throughout the preseason.
My Own Personal Top-Secret 2022 Salary Cap Values Chart
Download a printable pdf, here
[Image credits: https://pix4free.org/photo/19544/confidential-data.html under cc-2.0]
