Hobbies And Interests
Salary Cap
When you play "Madden 10" in Franchise mode, you choose a team that you can keep the same or change through trades, free agent signings and the NFL draft. When you claim your team at the start of Franchise mode, its current payroll is shown. In the game, the salary cap for each team in the league is set at $123 million. It is your responsibility to keep your team's total payroll under the cap.
Roster Changes
As you progress through the season in Franchise mode, you can release players, sign new players and make trades with other teams. While a trade's chance of being approved by the other general manager depends on the quality of the players involved, each player's salary is also a consideration. A team will not make a move that will put its total payroll over the salary cap, nor should you.
Penalties
You commit a salary cap penalty in "Madden 10" by having your team's total salary eclipse the salary cap. One challenge of managing a team is that the game will not prevent you from making deals that put you over the cap. As such, it's your responsibility to monitor your payroll or face a penalty at the end of each season of play. The amount of money you'll be penalized is dependent on the amount you've surpassed the cap. When you're penalized, the money will disappear out of your budget.
No Cap
Managing a competitive team under the salary cap is a difficult process. If you would rather concentrate on your team's on-field play rather than the business side of football, turn off the salary cap when customizing your Franchise mode settings. When setting the rules for your franchise, you'll see the option of leaving the salary cap on or turning it off. When you turn it off, you can make personnel changes without risk of a salary cap penalty.