Not to revive a dead thread too much. But some of these players being forced into retirement is due to newer teams buying a player above their ability to financially sustain. The 1 player not able to captain save-a-hoe their team from the mediocrity, and also not help them earn enough money to sustain the player they purchase.
If I recall correctly there once was a limit to salary of players teams could purchase that had some algorithm to it? If it’s still around it needs revisiting. If it’s not it’s worth bringing back in a better way.
Arbitrarily deterring these things based on rankings or leagues is a bad idea. Arena size should factor in. This simulates a player “not wanting to go to a small market team vs a big market team”. Would you rather play for charlotte or for New York City. Kinda feels.