If you're setting up a new franchise yourself, you are considered the commissioner and may change the settings as you wish later. Some online leagues may force all human players to be owners others may not have any restrictions at all. These aspects are explored in more detail in other pages of the wiki.ĭepending on the Franchise settings, a given Franchise file can be restricted to specific roles for the human players. If you are an owner, it's the same as being a coach, but you'll also be responsible for setting prices at your stadium, when to hire and fire coaches, and when or whether to relocate your team.
If you are a coach, you have full control over the football aspects of your team, including making trades, Scouting, and participating in The Draft. If you are a player, you will be locked into controlling that one player, and the rest of the game will be simulated (unless you're playing online and your opponent is controlling his side of the ball during the plays you're on the bench). Here you can choose to Be a Player, Be a Coach, or Be an Owner. The right-center tile asks what your role in the organization will be, and this is arguably the most important decision. However, that too can be overridden based on League Settings, explained in a couple paragraphs. Note that players who are already injured on the active roster and are on the injured reserve, such as Ryan Shazier of the Pittsburgh Steelers, will still be unavailable if this option is selected. If you start in the regular season, the first preseason will be simulated but no Injuries will occur. You can choose to start in the preseason, the regular season, or have a fantasy draft (all players will be released from all teams, then drafted). The top-right tile is the starting point of your Franchise. The biggest tile starts your Franchise immediately, so don't hit that yet. Note that online franchises cannot have co-op players. During any game, season or otherwise, another human player can pick up a second controller and play alongside or even against the original player this would be done on the controller select screen prior to the game starting.
For example, say a human player creates an offline Franchise file and selects to coach the Seahawks. Though this is getting ahead of the setup menus, note that multiple human players can play on the same side during an actual game if the Franchise is offline and neither is in Be a Player mode.