Capr runs two kinds of drafts: the startup draft that builds every roster when a league begins, and the yearly rookie draft that feeds it new talent. Both connect directly to the cap: every pick signs a contract the moment it's made.
Rookie drafts
Rookie drafts run 3 rounds by default (1–10 configurable) in either snake/linear pick format or as a rookie auction using the same live room as everything else. Picks sign rookie-scale contracts automatically: the 1.01 costs about 4.5% of the cap by default, later picks cost less, and each round steps down by the league's decay factor. Rookie deals are 3 years by default, the best value in the game.
A rookie auction bids from real cap space by default. Leagues can switch to a pick budget instead, where each of your picks converts to auction dollars through the pay scale and anything you don't spend expires. Pick budget keeps the rookie auction self-contained; open cap lets a team spend its way to a rookie class.
Startup drafts
Startups price the whole player pool. In a startup draft, the pay scale starts at 20% of the cap for the first overall pick. You don't set the decay by hand: you set how much of one team's cap the whole draft should commit, 85% by default, and Capr solves the per-round curve to hit it, so a scale can never ask for more cap than a team has.
Startup auctions and the holdback
In a startup auction, you bid real cap dollars, with an auction holdback locking part of each team's cap, 20% by default, so nobody leaves the room with a full roster and zero space. The holdback keeps money back for FAAB and waiver bids, practice squad promotions, and salary taken on in trades, and it unlocks the moment the startup auction is over. It does not apply to the rookie auction or to free agency. Removing it significantly raises the risk of teams in cap hell after rollover.
There is no maximum on what a single player can cost: a team may commit everything it has to one player. What holds it back is the minimum salary its unfilled roster spots still need, so spending big on one player means less for the seats you must still fill.
Multi-year deals out of a startup
Leagues can cap how many multi-year deals come out of the startup auction, by length: three 2-year deals and two 3-year deals, say. One-year deals are always unlimited, and free agency ignores the limit entirely.
The auction room
Live auctions include anti-snipe timers: a bid in the closing seconds extends the clock, so wins go to the best price instead of the fastest thumb. Proxy bidding lets you set a private maximum and let the room bid for you.
Commissioners can hide who is leading each open bid. Identity is the only thing hidden: the price, the bid count, who nominated the player and whose turn it is to nominate all stay visible, and you can always see your own position, because a manager who can't tell whether their proxy is still live can't bid at all.
Draft order
Leagues choose how next year's rookie draft order is set: inverse standings (classic), Max Points For among non-playoff teams (tank-proof: order reflects roster strength, not losses), consolation bracket finish, a verifiable lottery Capr runs itself (the configuration is sealed and hashed before standings are final, the result comes from a public randomness beacon, and every envelope can be checked afterwards), a lottery the commissioner draws elsewhere and enters the result of, or a commissioner-set order.