Post by Carolina on Jun 16, 2007 9:36:01 GMT -5
I'm asking this question to see the approach that other owners in the league use in building a franchise. I will go ahead and attempt to describe the general philosophy that I use with the Carolina Colonels.
The most important thing that I attempt to do is to keep the team salary down. Considering that I have the lowest salary in the league, I believe that I have accomplished this goal. There are several reasons as to why I am almost 10 Million under the cap right now. The biggest reason is that I am in one of the smaller markets in the league, Raleigh. I have to keep the team salary down as the pro audience in Raleigh is minimal compared to that of other cities. Another reason that I keep the salary low is that I believe that staying away from monstrous salaries is the only way that the XFL can survive in the long run. Besides, the XFL is not trying to compete with the NFL, so I don't see the need to load up on expensive free agents.
As far as how I attempt to build my team, I focus the majority of my energy on the draft. Outside of acquiring Brian Williams and Jason Brookins, the majority of my starters came through the draft. Of course, as in the case of Williams and Brookins, if I see the need to acquire a free agent, I will make the move, and usually I am able to outbid other teams because I have more cap room. I also tend to stay away from trades, with the obvious exception being the trade with Chicago that landed Ricky Ray in Carolina. I made the trade because of the fact that the Colonels had never really had a solid starter since the creation of the team in 2004.
I mentioned that I use the draft as my main tool to stock my team, and there is a certain way that I like to draft as well. I don't subscribe to the philosophy of taking the best player available, as I find it to be pointless in any league, especially the XFL because it can often be hard to tell who the best prospect is, as there is always the threat of jumping ship to the NFL. I draft for specific needs, and on occasion will draft a promising player int he later rounds, even if I have solid depth at that position.
Other than keeping the salary low, having as many local college players on my roster is the most important aspect of my franchise. A large percentage of my roster played their college ball in the state of North Carolina, with the majority of those players playing at North Carolina State. I will admit to being a huge N.C. State fan, but that is not the only reason these players are on the team. Over the past 5 years, State has continued to put out solid pro players, especially on the defensive side of the ball. As I mentioned before, Raleigh is not exactly the best pro sports town. Other than the Carolina Hurricanes and minor league baseball, every other pro sports team in the area has failed, with pro football teams often suffering worst than others. The main reason for this is the overwhelming popularity of college sports in the area, and I decided early on that I would use this popularity to attract fans to see the Colonels. In the 4th season, I believe that the Colonels are really starting to gain loyalty from the people of the Triangle. They are finally accepting the Colonels as their team, and one of the major reasons is that the roster is loaded with players that they watched every Saturday in the fall.
Daniel Casey
Carolina Colonels