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So yeah, once again I'm faced with the difficult question whether I should fire my favorite veteran players or sell them off to some Mongolian backwater town (no offense!) when I actually just want to give them a chance to retire in dignity with my own team.

Thus, I'd like to politely suggest the BB devs implement a retirement option for veteran players.

My idea would, roughly, be this:
You get a special option for veteran players of your team, that is players above a certain age (33+?) who've spent at least 3 (4? 5?) seasons with your team, which allows you to have them declare their retirement after the last game of the season. This option could be live before the season starts, or maybe during the first half of the season up to the ASG. It could be displayed as league news, and I'd love to maybe see it mentioned in the live game report during the last game, either after the game or when he leaves the court for the last time and sits down on the bench to standing ovations. cf.: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_T-MZbgEsc

An optional idea that may or may not be beneficial or at least not do too much damage is having the player's skills very, very slightly improved once he declares his will to retire after the season. I'm thinking of something like 1% per season for your team, at most, or maybe just incremental improvement from, say, 0.2% during the first game after his declaration to 10% (for five seasons played) during the last game of his last season. This is not enough to have serious impact on the balance within the league to an undue extent, but it's a nice touch and ensures that your player will have a decent season as his last one, and, yeah, leave the court with dignity and pride.

And yes, this is entirely based on sentimentalism, imaginary attachment to bits and bytes, and does not, as far as I can see, have a relevant impact on the game economy even if it makes less veteran players available for transfer.

So yeah, I'm interested your opinions. And, should the devs decide to implement this: Hurry up, guys, I have players I want to retire... :-)

Last edited by Don Rosa at 4/9/2014 1:41:23 PM

Completely opposed to the idea. An employer can't tell someone when to retire; they can only tell them when they can no longer work for them.
There's absolutely no dignity in being forced into retirement at age 33, as you propose. If you really wanted him to retire with dignity from your team, you'd keep him on the roster until he's 40 and has skills such that no one would be interested in picking him up when you release him.

I like the idea, but as burke said, it is not realistic.
What bb could do, using your idea a bit, was to attribute some %'s for players to retire at the end of the season, that being known by you earlier the season (and skills 1% improved as you said).
33 years old could have a 10% chance
34 -> 20%
35 -> 30%
40 -> 80%
42 -> 100%! lol

This is a better idea.

Old player will want to retire. If they want to play and are not good enough the team will cut them.

I like the thought of Joe Perez (14603477) being able to retire on my team. He was one of the first players I bought, and has been a team leader since S21. One of my favorite players ever. I do agree with some of the other posters though, it's not very realistic. What if you could suggest that a player retire, and he could either take your advice or not? And after a player hits 40 or so he'll retire on his own. More realistic, but similar concept.

Ok, I see your point. It shouldn't be left to chance, that's true. I'm sort of torn on this subject, because I do like seeing guys like the 50-something Mexican guy who's never played in a game, but part of me does want the realism of players deciding to go into retirement, and another part wants to be able to have players, such as Perez, retire on my terms. I just don't look forward to the day when I have to say goodbye to Perez. *sniffle*

One of my first players ever purchased, Patrizio, turned 41 this season. His effective playing days in league games are over, but he still puts on a bit of a show in bot cup games and scrimmages. He used to be my ringer PG, SG, or SF back in Div V in Season 19 and was solid in Div IV for a couple seasons. There's only one player on my team that I've had for longer, and he was on my original roster.

I am fairly sentimental about my players, too. It's part of what makes this game so fun.
I could see a 'lock' on a player's skills once they decide to retire, but then you lose them for good at season's end.
It would have to have some strict policies, as you state, such as age requirements and # of years with the team.

Well, to be honest, this was part suggestion, part attempt to spark a discussion. Glad to see it worked, and thanks for the feedback!

Some thoughts on some points brought up:

* "An employer can't tell someone when to retire; they can only tell them when they can no longer work for them." - That is true, though BB actually lets us cut and dye our rookies' hair and shave their beards and SWAP OUT THEIR EYEBALLS JESUS CHRIST HOW HORRIBLE that I believe a retirement option wouldn't be that questionable ethically.

* Age requirement: my "33+?" was something like the very lowest age I could imagine for a retirement. If it were me, 36 or 37 and at least 5 seasons with the team would be a much better starting point, but I didn't want to force my age restriction on the discussion so I opted for setting the bar low.

* Firing versus retirement: I know I could technically imagine a nice retirement party in my head before I kick my player out, but it just isn't the same. And we do have a Hall of Fame which we don't have to imagine in our heads either, for an instance; celebrating someone's retirement and accepting someone in your Hall of Fame isn't the same, but it caters to the same sentiments at least.

Again, thanks for the discussion!

As an addendum:
I stopped playing Hattrick years ago, but I still fondly remember - though I actually just recalled it right now, two days after my original post - the retirement option there. The players even had various jobs to choose from after their retirement - youth coach, job in the front office, restaurant owner, whatever. It was another nice little touch.

Last edited by Don Rosa at 4/10/2014 5:58:00 PM