Maybe I'm in the minority, but I like to be able to pull off ANY trade I see fit to make. I understand the need for the AI to make smart decisions with regard to personell, but ultimately, if I want to trade Peyton Manning for a backup punter and a can of Tough Actin Tinactin, then I want the game to allow me to do it.
Sometimes, in sports games, the AI gets a little "too smart" and doesn't allow a trade that actually takes place in the real world. Baseball sims are especially guilty of this. They too often won't let a very good player be traded for draft picks or minor leaguers with potential. In real life such trades are often made for no other reason than for the poorer club to dump salary.
Anyway, this might be the first time in a long time that I might pass (pardon the pun) on this year's Madden. I liked Madden 09 but I hardly played it so I don't know that I'll want to buy Madden 10. I think I could be content to just play 09 again. And, now that I think of it, the same goes for NHL 09. I loved it but, ultimately, I get bored with sports games pretty quickly.
Besides, I think this fall I'll be spending a good chunk of my gaming hours playing Operation Flashpoint 2 and IL2:Sturmovik Birds of Prey.