CFM Roster File selection get contracts re-generated as fully guaranteed
Platform: PC, Xbox, and PS5
Mode: Franchise (Offline and Online)
SUMMARY
Starting a Franchise from any roster loaded through the "Roster File" option causes player contracts to be incorrectly regenerated, with the full cap hit treated as guaranteed salary/bonus.
This occurs even with EA's official roster if it is loaded through the Roster File option. The only roster option that correctly preserves contracts is the live NFL Preseason Roster shown on the left side of the roster selection screen.
For example, using the same team and player:
- NFL Preseason Roster (live roster): ~$11.00M savings / ~$9.01M penalty
- Roster File: $0 savings / ~$20.01M penalty
The $20.01M penalty equals the expected $11.00M savings + $9.01M penalty, meaning the salary that should have been recoverable is instead being treated as guaranteed.
This is not limited to one player. Most contracted players on a team show $0 savings when released when the Franchise is started from a Roster File.
This also means that editing, duplicating, downloading, or using EA's official roster as a Roster File does not resolve the issue. The problem appears to be specifically tied to starting the Franchise through the Roster File selection.
IMPACT
Cap management is effectively unusable when starting a Franchise from a Roster File.
Anyone using community rosters, custom rosters, downloaded rosters, or even EA's official roster file will encounter this issue.
The only known working option is selecting the live "NFL Preseason Roster" directly from the Franchise setup screen.
