Each team is comprised of players at 3 different levels: Aces (4.5+), Swingers (4.0+), and Challengers (3.0/3.5+). Matchups are determined based on level, availability, and intrigue. Players who outperform (or underperform) at their level will see their LOCOS Rating adjust accordingly. The base LOCOS Rating for each player is their “salary” (e.g., $9,000,000) divided by 10,000 (so: 900). 

A player’s initial “salary” is determined based on multiple factors, including skill level, regular availability to play matches, injury history, flexibility between singles/doubles, guesswork, etc. Player salaries are important because each team must put together a roster that fits under the League “salary cap” each season. You can overpay for some flashy Aces at the top of your team’s roster, but then your team might get rolled at the Swinger and Challenger levels. Just hope your team has a good GM (hey, they must be a great GM – they drafted YOU!)   

All of this is meant to create and maintain competitive balance. While a player’s salary will remain the same for the whole season, a player’s LOCOS Rating is dynamic: it goes up/down based on results, level of competition, etc. At the end of each season, everyone’s salaries get recalculated based on the new ratings. We then shuffle the rosters (i.e., transfer some players to different teams, add in new players, etc.) before the start of the next League season.