Using the 2004 set, the number of players on each franchise ranges from 27 (L.A. Dodgers) to 41 (Kansas City). The easiest thing to do, from my perspective, is to designate a minimum number of franchise players who must be retained on each team (25 would seem a good number, providing each team with a 40-man roster after the 15-round supplemental draft. This would mean that injuries could be allowed).
I would also limit the supplemental FA draft only to players from unclaimed teams (non-franchise players). Doing it this way makes it easier to monitor for compliance. If each team has to retain 25 franchise players, the ones released probably wouldn't be of interest to anyone either (we're talking the super-scrubs here). I've run a mock draft using the teams selected by 8 of the 10 committed owners, plus assigned teams to the two who have yet to choose, and there's plenty of quality remaining for a 15-round draft.
One note about lotteries: Not all states and provinces have a Pick 3, and I think Colorado and Ontario are among them. Make sure you choose a Pick 3 state/province.
We need to decide on whether we start with 2004 or 2005. Since we're using v.11, I suspect we all have 2005. Most of us probably also have 2004, which of course can be used in v.11. Is there anybody who doesn't have a 2004 set or would object to purchasing it? I'd like to start with 2004, since that would roll over to 2005 and 2006 -- the latter probably being out about the time we're done with '05. If we start with '05, we'lll probably have to wait a couple of months before the '06 set comes out. However, I don't want to burden someone with an expense they can't afford.