PIHA Contracts

[NJRH10]

I've heard different people say different things when it comes to PIHA contracts. Mainly some say they exists and are enforceable to the point of legal action and others say that their teams haven't signed any form of contracts at all. So my question is what is the official word on PIHA contracts? And when I say a PIHA contract I don't mean the insurance papers I mean a contract that legally binds a player to that team for a determined amount of time. And if there is such a thing then does anyone know the in's and outs? Are all contracts the same? Can teams modify a players contract or is it a generic league contract? Etc.

[GROWL]

There is in fact a player contract that must be signed. It basically gives the league and the teams the ability to use a players likeness, biographical information, ect to promote the league. It also states that the player must follow the rules of the league and so on. This alone will bind a player to a specific team. According to the league rules, once you play with one team, you can no longer leave that team until released by that particular team or until the end of a season. This pretty much makes everyone a free agent during the off-season unless teams have specific contracts of their own. It also means that players can pick up and leave the team there on because they are losing or because they are unhappy for whatever reason.

[NJRH10]

I've also heard that if a team releases you then you are ineligible to be picked up by another team for the rest of the season, is this true? Because that seems like the opposite of being released.

[born2runPROgm]

If a team releases you, you are eligible to continue playing that season with a different club however, teams are only allowed to make a few drops/pick-ups ( i believe 1 or 2 changes per club per season.)

[GROWL]

I'll take that a step further...

An organization (1 pro/1 minor team), is allowed a 34 player roster. You get 17 spots per team, so for instance the Harrisburgh organization is allowed a 51 player roster, while the Growl is just allowed 34.

Adding/Dropping Players:

As I understand it, you can add players as long as you have the available roster spots. But only up until you have reached the 34 player mark. The league has an add/drop date (Feb 1st), at which time you can release two pro players and one minor player from your roster. You can then replenish your roster by adding two pro players and one minor player.

So to clarify. A player playing for one team must wait to be dropped at the Feb 1st date to be picked up by another team. It is completely at the discretion of the first team, as to whether they want to drop a player. As stated before... once you play for a team you are their 'property' until either dropped or the end of the year.