It seems like the draft has gotten harder or something...  I spent 20-30k a week, and got fairly likewise.  One or two might make fringe.
I'm at the peak of my optimized period... all my stars are mid 20s, and income is just starting to decline to near 0.  But it hasn't been nearly good enough the past couple years.  If you're weak, maybe this actually is indeed my chance to hit the title game at least, and then hope for a good outcome.
Anyways, no problem.  I found similar threads in a league from one of our old IV.22 members who moved up, and thought it might be good to have here.
Hope your season is a bright one :-)