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So, we’re given 1200 points to spend on our initial draft.
1. Do we get to carry over any of the 1200?
2. Should I use up all 1200 on my first 53?
3. Do I need to sign all 53 before I sign FAs? I’ll waste points signing them if I have to cut them for FAs
The 1200 salary points cover both initial contracts after the talent acquisition draft and free agency. Any leftover salary points will be carried over to the second season at a rate of 1 salary point carried forward for every 2 salary points left over (i.e., half of them will disappear).
You should definitely not use all 1200 points on your first 53 players. I usually want 200 to 600 points going into free agency, depending on how many blue chippers I want to keep long term and how active I need to be in free agency.
Yes, you are not able to bid on free agents until you have your first 53 players under contract. HINT: 1 year contracts are free. If you aren't sure if a player is going to be a contributor, sign them to a one year contract. You will have some limited rights to the player in year 2 free agency.
Also, if you are close follower of NFL football, you will know how quickly things can change. In some of our longer running leagues, teams that had Andrew Luck under long term contracts ended up with a lot of "dead cap space". In my view a top 10 QB is worth of a 7 year contract and no one else. Young blue chippers at other positions might get a 4-6 year contract. You are also able to offer long term contracts (>=5 year) to up to two players each season. You may want to stagger which good players come up for new contracts so you don't have 4 pro bowlers needing new contracts in one year. In that case, it would be hard to hold on to all of them.