11.25 Payroll differs on expense dialog and finance page [Fixed 12.11]

[filihok]

filihok, I for one can follow your logic exactly. I don't think it is a display error either.

It is not likely rounding. For one thing if it was traditional rounding then the errors would be minimized over many computations and tend to be close to the actual. Secondly, if it was a traditional rounding error, we should see discrepancies in BOTH directions. It does not matter in your example whether you work with the sum of individual salaries or the gross. It is tough to get that far off. Try it.

It may be that the program simply drops the last digit that it carries (integer function). This would tend to produce results in only one direction. Even so, 1,000,000 divided by 162 = 6172.8395 per game. Please note that you will not be able to drop digits to be able to calc a number close to 24,846,325.

6170 is too much, 6100 is too little. Interesting that the number required to be multiplied by 162 and get 24,846,325 is almost exactly halfway between 6100 & 6170...being 6134.8951.

Now if you run your same simulation paying the players 10,000,000 each will the payroll be off by the same percentage - meaning it will report payroll of 248,463,250, or close to it? I think that if it is off by the same percentage then the program could not be using the same placeholder to round, and therefore it cannot be rounding.

Yoo-Hoo...so I'm not totally crazy.

It seems so glaring. I keep expecting somebody to point out something that I'm overlooking, but...

[tywiggins]

I didn't go back and check this with your earlier examples, but with your $25 million payroll, I found a way to get $24,846,325.

$1,000,000 / 163 games = $6134.969 -- rounded down to $6134.9

$6134.90 * 162 games = $993,853.80 -- rounded down to $993,853

$993,853 * 25 players = $24,846,325


By the way, $25,000,000 * 162 / 163 = $24,846,625.77 , which is only $300 off of $24,846,325.

[filihok]

Interesting...good work

Maybe Clay typed a 3 where he should have typed a 2?

I'll take a look at this when I get a chance

[filihok]

Actually, better yet

25,000,000/163 = 153,374.233
Round to: 153,374.23
Multiply by 162
=24,846,325.3
Round to: 24,846,325 which = THIS

I think you may be on to something

I look forward to trying this on another couple examples

[filihok]

Ok...so the formula in post #49 doesn't work if you add minor league players.

In a test I just did, I added a minor league player making $75 million.

After playing the season I should have had a total salary paid of:
100,000,000/163 = 613,496.9325...
Round to: 613,496.93
Multiply by 162
=99,386,502.66
Round to: 99,386,503

I actually got a total salary paid of: 99,383,368

We know that the 25 guys making 1,000,000 each total to 24,846,325 so the $75 mil player must have made 99,383,368-24,846,325 = 74,537,043

Which is 74,537,043/75,000,000 = .99382724

Who can figure out the significance of THIS number? I'll get to work on it

[tywiggins]

Actually, better yet

25,000,000/163 = 153,374.233
Round to: 153,374.23
Multiply by 162
=24,846,325.3
Round to: 24,846,325 which = THIS

I think you may be on to something

I look forward to trying this on another couple examples

Not that it matters much, but 153,374.23 * 162 = 24,846,625

[filihok]

Not that it matters much, but 153,374.23 * 162 = 24,846,625

SOB...lol...thanx, I was all excited. I thought I had an exact match...

But wait, you had an exact match...lemme try something

[filihok]

Nope...So it looked like we had it figured out and that it was a rounding error and a division by 163 instead of 162.

What I did for this test was add a minor league player with a salary of $75,000,000 leaving the team with a $100,000,000 payroll.

After 162 games only 99,363,368 was paid out.

The 163 games and rounding as described HERE doesn't work out. That leads to a payroll of: 99,386,503

If we assume that the major league players (whose salaries didn't change) still made 24,846,345 in this example then the minor league player must have made 99,363,368 - 24,846,345 = 74,517,043.

Any ideas how to get to that number? Or how to get to 99,363,368???

[tywiggins]

Nope...So it looked like we had it figured out and that it was a rounding error and a division by 163 instead of 162.

What I did for this test was add a minor league player with a salary of $75,000,000 leaving the team with a $100,000,000 payroll.

After 162 games only 99,363,368 was paid out.

The 163 games and rounding as described HERE doesn't work out. That leads to a payroll of: 99,386,503

If we assume that the major league players (whose salaries didn't change) still made 24,846,345 in this example then the minor league player must have made 99,363,368 - 24,846,345 = 74,517,023.

Any ideas how to get to that number? Or how to get to 99,363,368???

Did you accidentally play a game before you created the minor leaguer?

75,000,000 / 162 = 462962.96
this time round to 462963
462963 * 161 = 74,537,043

[filihok]

No...he was created on April 1st before I simmed the season.

I'm looking for this number: 74,517,023
Not 74,537,043

Unless I'm missing something

[tywiggins]

Umm.

We know that the 25 guys making 1,000,000 each total to 24,846,325 so the $75 mil player must have made 99,383,368-24,846,325 = 74,537,043

If we assume that the major league players (whose salaries didn't change) still made 24,846,345 in this example then the minor league player must have made 99,363,368 - 24,846,345 = 74,517,043.

Your first quote was right. The numbers in the second quote are all wrong.

[filihok]

You see why my career in finance lasted six months...

Ok...so why the hell does the game divide major league players' salaries by 163 and pay by 162 while dividing minor league players' salaries by 161 and pay by 162?

[tywiggins]

You see why my career in finance lasted six months...

Ok...so why the hell does the game divide major league players' salaries by 163 and pay by 162 while dividing minor league players' salaries by 161 and pay by 162?

Well, my guess is that dividing by an extra game is a mistake in the code.

Also, the difference with your $75 million player may be because you created him after the season started. Try the same experiment but use a player that already exists instead of a new player.

Edit: I just did it and got the exact same amount as you. $99,383,368
I also get the exact same amount when the $75 million player is on the MLB team and the minor leaguer is making $1 million.

[tywiggins]

I found a much simpler explanation. You don't pay the players for the last game of the season.

Every game (except the last) each player's salary is divided by 162. They are each rounded to the nearest dollar.

So:
$1 million / 162 rounded to the nearest dollar = $6173
$75 million / 162 rounded to the nearest dollar = $462963

$6173 * 25 + $462963 = $617288 per game

$617288 * 161 games = $99,383,368 -- which is what the running total says after both the 161st and 162nd game.
$617288 * 162 games = $100,000,656 -- which is also the projected expenses before the last game is played.

[filihok]

I found a much simpler explanation. You don't pay the players for the last game of the season.

Every game (except the last) each player's salary is divided by 162. They are each rounded to the nearest dollar.

So:
$1 million / 162 rounded to the nearest dollar = $6173
$75 million / 162 rounded to the nearest dollar = $462963

$6173 * 25 + $462963 = $617288 per game

$617288 * 161 games = $99,383,368 -- which is what the running total says after both the 161st and 162nd game.
$617288 * 162 games = $100,000,656 -- which is also the projected expenses before the last game is played.

BRILLIANT!!!!!

Now does that last game EVER get counted?