Having the same issue, in game the Offer Sheet Compensation tab shows 4.1-6 million offers requires a 1st and 3rd for the current year. When I offer 5.4 it tells me I have to pay the next tier up of the current years 1st, 2nd & 3rd.
At least I'm not alone. However this thread is obviously all alone because people can add one about a half hour after mine and get an immediate response from EA and let this one sit high and dry. It must be because it's for an offline mode that they don't care about.
In an attempt to keep trying to sign Hughes I found that no matter the money offered, it was the term (being 6 years) that triggers the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd pick compensation rather than the dollar amount as it should be
