It’s time to talk quarterback.

The unflinching anchor of your team. The guy around whom your offense is built and on whose shoulders your team rises or falls.

That guy.

In Retro Bowl, quarterbacks are great when they’re young, and just like real life, their rookie contract is an opportunity for the team to beef up for a championship run. But when that two season window comes to an end, the spike in yearly cost—combined with the inflexibility of cap space in Retro Bowl Leagues—can handicap your team and even make you consider moving on from that MVP level guy.

We’re going to discuss how overalls are determined, contract values are calculated, and a special exploit for keeping those contracts cheap (it’s at the end).

All attributes of players are listed on a scale from 1 to 10, with 10 being the best and 1 being the worst that attribute can be.

A good quarterback is dependent on what you are looking for, but generally there are a couple of factors that do not change across play styles: Throw Power and Stamina.

Throw power is defined as how far your QB can throw the ball, but stamina limits how many times your quarterback can throw at his max distance and velocity. A player with high throw power and low stamina will start out well, throwing in the 20-30 yard range, which allows for deep balls and easy scoring. However, by the time the 4th quarter starts his arm is gone and you’re suddenly limited to short passes in the most crucial part of the game.

The other two attributes are Accuracy and Speed. Accuracy is player learned no matter the attribute level, and is usually not as important, needing only a 5 or 6 to be effective. Quarterback speed is generally irrelevant, and lower speed quarterbacks can even be desirable for those who want to keep contracts cheap. Most players will settle for a QB will lower accuracy and speed if his Strength (Throw Power) and Stamina are high.

The QB contract is defined by the overall (called “Stars” in Retro Bowl. We will be using a * to designate stars.), and overall is determined by attribute values.

So a QB with attributes of: (Accuracy – 6; Throw Power – 8; Speed – 2; Stamina – 8) would be a 3* player, even though he has the best attributes. His speed and accuracy ratings drag him down.

Now, there are two ways to keep QB contracts cheap:

A. You can draft or sign a QB like the one above, who is strictly good in the specific desired qualities that fit your play style. The above 3* QB would cost between $25-30 Million in his second (non-rookie) contract. If you’re comfortable paying that, then go for it.

B. You can skirt the need for a second contract by continually extending a rookie quarterback on his rookie contract each and every season.

Here’s how this works.

You have to start with a rookie QB. Draft a guy with a ton of potential, but preferably low starting star (*) rating. The rookie contract cost is determined by his starting * rating.

You’ll play out his first season as normal, bumping up his overall through level ups, and molding him into the perfect guy for your system.

In his second season is when the magic will happen. You’ll want to schedule a meeting with your QB, where you will extend him for a number of CCs (Coaching Credits). His contract will show 2y remaining, and you’ll continue playing on his rookie contract.

You can do this indefinitely; extending him each year and pushing his rookie contract longer and longer.

Now, this is where drafting a low level guy with high potential comes in.

The average 3-3.5* rookie QB contract is $18M, but a 4* will start at $21M.

You can extend those contracts for the entire career of your quarterback.

If your QB turns into a 4.5* or 5* guy, it will cost you 25 CCs to extend him each year. If you’re consistently winning in game, you should earn 50-60 CCs per season, so the extension is roughly half your season earnings.

This will clear nearly $25 Million in cap for the duration of your QB’s career, allowing you to sign better receivers or defenders, and truly make that run at your league championship.

Good luck, and may football season never end!

This exploit may be used for any player, but the cost in CCs is often not worth the saved cap space in other positions.

This exploit is designed specifically for use in the app Retro Bowl Mobile, and will not work in Retro Bowl College. Do not attempt to use this exploit in real life, as it may make your quarterback laugh in your face before signing with a rival team.