How to Optimize Your Purse for a 20-Team Auction
Running a 20-team auction is a completely different beast compared to an 8- or 10-team format. The player pool is deeper, the purse gets stretched thinner, and one bad bidding war can torpedo an entire team's strategy. Here's how the best organizers set up their auctions for success.
Start With the Math
Before setting purse amounts, work backwards from your player pool:
- Total players available divided by teams = players per team
- Multiply by a reasonable average cost to get the baseline purse
- Add a 20-30% buffer for bidding wars on marquee players
For example, with 200 players across 20 teams, each team needs roughly 10 players. If your average base price is ₹1,000, a purse of ₹15,000–₹18,000 per team keeps things competitive without making it too easy.
Tiered Base Pricing Is Essential
Flat base prices are the fastest way to make an auction boring. Instead, create 3-4 tiers:
| Tier | Base Price | % of Pool | |------|-----------|-----------| | Marquee | ₹2,000–3,000 | 10% | | A-Grade | ₹1,000–1,500 | 25% | | B-Grade | ₹500–800 | 35% | | Emerging | ₹200–400 | 30% |
This creates natural tension — teams must decide whether to go all-in on marquee picks or build depth with more affordable talent.
The Retention Trap
If your league allows retentions, be careful with pricing. A common mistake: setting retention costs too low, which means top teams keep their best players and the auction becomes a formality.
Set retention costs at 1.5x-2x the expected auction price for that tier. This forces genuine trade-offs.
Use RTM (Right to Match) Wisely
RTM adds a strategic layer that rewards loyal teams without completely removing players from the auction pool. The key rules to get right:
- Limit RTM cards to 2 per team maximum
- RTM activates at final bid price — no discounts
- RTM decisions happen in real-time during the auction — this keeps things exciting for the audience
Set Bidding Increments by Price Range
Don't use a flat increment. Scale it:
- Under ₹500: Increment of ₹50
- ₹500–₹2,000: Increment of ₹100
- ₹2,000–₹5,000: Increment of ₹200
- Above ₹5,000: Increment of ₹500
This prevents auctions from dragging on low-value picks while still allowing precise bidding on premium players.
The Unsold Pool Strategy
After the first round, you'll have unsold players. Don't just throw them back in:
- Reduce base prices by 25-50% for the accelerated round
- Allow teams with remaining purse to nominate specific unsold players
- Set a time limit per pick in the accelerated round (30 seconds works well)
Monitor Purse Health in Real-Time
This is where software makes a massive difference. With SportsAuctionPro, every team owner can see:
- Their remaining purse in real-time
- How many slots they still need to fill
- The minimum they need to reserve per remaining slot
This transparency prevents the worst outcome in any auction: a team running out of money with roster spots unfilled.
Final Tip: Simulate Before You Go Live
Run a mock auction with your organizer team playing as dummy owners. You'll immediately spot issues with purse sizes, base prices, and pacing. Two hours of testing saves you from a four-hour disaster on auction day.
Ready to run your 20-team auction? Start your free trial and get access to all the purse management tools mentioned above.