---
name: trade-negotiation
description: This skill should be used when the user says "they countered", "how should I respond to their counter", "make a counteroffer", "negotiate this trade", "they said no, what now", "how do I get this deal done", or is mid-conversation with another manager about an offer. Provides counteroffer reasoning - anchoring, concession laddering, framing, and walk-away discipline. Not for the initial verdict on an offer (trade-evaluation), finding a partner from scratch (trade-finder), or sending the final offer in the browser (roster-ops propose-trade).
---

# Trade Negotiation: The Back-and-Forth

Turn a stalled or countered trade into a closed deal — or a clean walk-away. This skill manages the *sequence* of offers; use trade-evaluation for the underlying math whenever a new construction appears.

## Step 1: Establish the negotiation state

Gather: the offer history so far (every version, in order), the current offer on the table, what the other manager has *said* (their words carry their priorities), and both teams' standings. Read `leagues.md` for deadline and playoff weeks — the deadline is the clock every negotiation runs on.

## Step 2: Set the walk-away before countering

Before drafting any counter, compute (with trade-evaluation logic) the **minimum acceptable version**: the weakest construction the user should still accept, by lineup delta. Write it down in the response. Every counter is then measured against it — this is what prevents "winning the negotiation, losing the trade."

## Step 3: Read the counter

- **What they changed reveals what they value.** If they swapped out one player but kept the structure, they're in — haggling over price. If they restructured entirely, the original framing missed their need; re-diagnose (their deficit may not be what trade-finder assumed).
- **Anchor check**: if their counter is far below the user's opener, don't split the difference — that rewards extreme anchoring. Move a small step and re-justify, or hold and re-frame.
- Classify momentum: converging (versions getting closer → close it), circling (same gap restated → change the *pieces*, not the price), or diverging (walk-away is near).

## Step 4: Concession laddering

- **Concede smallest pieces first**: bench depth, a throw-in, claim priority — never the headline player in the first concession.
- **One concession per round**, and always attach a condition: "I'll add Sandoval if we swap your Pruitt in for the backup TE." Free concessions teach the partner to keep waiting.
- **Change the shape when price-stuck**: expand 1-for-1 into 2-for-2 (lets both sides win a lineup slot), or move the surplus piece — a different player of similar value may fit their roster better and cost the user less.
- **Deadline lever**: name a real expiry tied to a real event ("before Sunday's games — after that Fontaine's price changes"). Never bluff an expiry; leagues remember.

## Step 5: Frame every message as their win

The counter-message the user sends should lead with what the other side gains ("this fixes your RB2 for the playoff run"), state the change plainly, and skip the lecture about fairness. Draft the actual message text for the user. Keep leverage private: never reveal the walk-away, desperation ("I have to fix TE this week"), or a rival negotiation unless it's real and strategically deployed.

## Step 6: Close or walk

- Close when the current version ≥ the minimum acceptable version and momentum is converging — accept promptly; extracting the last 2% risks the whole deal.
- Walk when two consecutive rounds circle below the walk-away line. Exit warmly ("can't make this one work — flag me if your RB situation changes") — preserved rapport is the option value on every future trade.
- Then suggest roster-ops propose-trade to submit the final agreed version.

## Worked example (fictional)

"Turf Burns" countered the user's Fontaine-for-Vasquez offer: they want Fontaine **plus** WR Jalen Moss for Vasquez. User's walk-away (from trade-evaluation): giving Fontaine + any startable WR loses more lineup points than the elite TE adds — Moss is over the line, a bench piece is not.

> They kept the structure — they want this trade; it's a price haggle. Counter (one concession, conditioned, smallest piece): "Can't do Moss — he starts for me. **Fontaine + Dewey Sandoval for Vasquez**, and Sandoval's been getting goal-line looks. Good until Sunday — after this week I'm just streaming TE and keeping the RBs." That concedes a bench RB (small), holds the headline, attaches a soft real deadline, and frames their gain. If they circle back to Moss again: walk, warmly.