As an MFN League Adinstrator, Which is more lethal to your league continuity:
A) The AI controlling roster contracts
OR
B) Total number of active GMs (also read as: not falling below 50% User ownership).


I'm rollin' with (A), as all I'm doing is fixing AI rosters in my NFL league until v4.7.

C, all of the above. USFL used to never have openings last long and our current openings may not last long either, but the longer they do, the worse the AI makes it.

With a shrinking user base to draw new owners from, the AI gets more and more time to wreak havoc.

Both issues sort of go hand in hand.

Never really had the problem. The league I run has been through 15-20 seasons in total (back once more after dabbling in other games) and we've never had more than 3-4 vacant teams at any one time. On those occasions there are a select group of longer-term members who act as caretakers (only ever caretake a team from the opposing conference) to keep the team on track, even drafting if need be.

Filling empty spots takes 2-3 weeks at the most,

Yes, not a helpful answer however I fully recommend the caretaker approach.

Definately the A.I. since all the best leagues have little trouble retaining/finding owners.

MFN is definately a supply & demand economy for leagues & owners.

Offer a quality product and owners tend to join/stay in the league. The laissez-faire administration of a league soon finds owners departing like rats on a sinking ship.

I think the AI problem is "mostly" an off-season issue. When I started Paydirt, I didn't own a team so I could jump to open teams and manage them when needed.

But if you like to own a team in your own league (which is more the norm), then you guys might think about networking with each other. A small network of 3-4 league owners would prolly be enough keep your teams from getting AI'd during the off-season. Let each other know when you need help via pm or a discord channel. Manage em through the off-season (or until a worthy GM is found) then release the team for the regular season. It should be enough to keep your teams from getting AI destroyed. **** the FA, draft and cuts are half the fun anyways.

I think a lot of GM's, especially new GM's to MFN, look at a open teams current situation before they grab it or move on. There are "more" (not all) GM's that prefer a team in good condition vs the ones that are a challenge and need multiple seasons to rebuild.

So I think a small network between you guys could go a long way to keep your league's teams attractive for new GM's.