Why am I losing contract bids?

[Paul_G]

I'm controlling BCF - I'm number 3 overall, rated at High Level National, and I'm at the point now where I've got big money and I'm trying to poach elite fighters from everyone else.

 

The problem is that there's more to that than just money apparently. I've made offers to a couple of guys from GAMMA and ALPHA... the GAMMA one was William Harrison I think, the Army guy? I had the rival offers beat by 50% and guys still choose to remain with the company they were already with.

 

When I say I had them beat, I had them beat everywhere... base salary, all the percentages, with a much higher signing bonus. Both me and my opposition had 'cut after a loss' clauses in there. But there was no financial aspect of the contract where I was not ahead.

 

I do win sometimes... I landed Atep of Indonesia. But my offers are such that I should always win and most of the time that's not happening. What am I missing here? Do fighters give a big premium to stay with companies in places where they are popular? Is there something with contract length and guaranteed fights? IIRC I was offering longer contracts with more guaranteed fights the opposition too.

 

It didn't seem like fighters were cutting me any slack when I was getting poached - what could be going on?

[Paul_G]

I'm controlling BCF - I'm number 3 overall, rated at High Level National, and I'm at the point now where I've got big money and I'm trying to poach elite fighters from everyone else.

 

The problem is that there's more to that than just money apparently. I've made offers to a couple of guys from GAMMA and ALPHA... the GAMMA one was William Harrison I think, the Army guy? I had the rival offers beat by 50% and guys still choose to remain with the company they were already with.

 

When I say I had them beat, I had them beat everywhere... base salary, all the percentages, with a much higher signing bonus. Both me and my opposition had 'cut after a loss' clauses in there. But there was no financial aspect of the contract where I was not ahead.

 

I do win sometimes... I landed Atep of Indonesia. But my offers are such that I should always win and most of the time that's not happening. What am I missing here? Do fighters give a big premium to stay with companies in places where they are popular? Is there something with contract length and guaranteed fights? IIRC I was offering longer contracts with more guaranteed fights the opposition too.

 

It didn't seem like fighters were cutting me any slack when I was getting poached - what could be going on?

[Adam Ryland]

You pretty much answered your own question; it's not just about money, especially if the character you're bidding on has been set with a non-financial career motivation. Other factors, such as company size, visibility (in terms of size and range of broadcasting, whether pay-per-view or mainstream TV is on offer, etc) and position in the industry play large roles.

 

Even characters whose career motivation is purely financial still take other factors into account to some degree as, for example, they 'know' that a company with a great broadcasting deal will help make them more popular and lead to greater earning potential down the line.

 

If you're only the third best company in the world then you will struggle to poach fighters off your bigger competitors without paying a massive premium to persuade them to 'drop down'. Most of the time you're going to have to sign and develop unsigned talent or steal from companies lower down the food chain.