All you need to know about IPL 2025 salary system: 10 Key Points to Understand

Monday, November 25, marked the end of another IPL 2025 super auction. Supporters saw bids for some of the top cricket players in the globe being made by their favorite teams.

IPL auctions have helped cricket players earn high incomes over the years, boosting the fame of well-known players and elevating lesser-known ones to household status. But many fans don’t know how the IPL pay structure actually operates.

Here’s a look at the 10 points about IPL salary system:

1. The amount a cricketer gets at the auction table goes on to become his salary, with applicable taxes deducted appropriately.

2. The entire salary amount belongs only to the cricketer, with no other claimants.

3. All IPL salaries are paid on a per-season basis. For example, if a player has signed for INR 5 crore, he will earn INR 5 crore for each season he plays for the franchise. If this player represents the franchise in three seasons, he will get INR 15 crore (INR 5 crore per season).

4. The inaugural season of the IPL was played in 2008. Bid amounts and salaries were denominated in US dollars during that time, with an exchange rate fixed at INR 40 per USD. However, in 2012, the system transitioned to Indian Rupees (INR).

5. The mega auction is usually held after every three seasons. However, if a player is retained for the fourth season when there is no auction scheduled, their contract is generally extended at the same salary as before. However, this could change if the team decides to offer a raise to the player when the contracts are negotiated. In the majority of the cases, retained players receive salary hikes as part of the extension.

6. Any player who is available for the entire season is entitled to their full salary, regardless of the number of matches they get to play in. For instance, consider that two players – A and B are roped in at the auction for INR 2 crore each. Suppose player A gets to play all the matches the franchise plays in a particular season. Meanwhile, player B remains on the bench for the entire edition. Both players will still be getting INR 2 crore each.

7. If a player has to withdraw from the tournament due to an injury before the start of a season, the franchise doesn’t have to pay the player. However, if the player is available only for a fixed number of matches and not the entire season, he is paid on a pro-rata basis, usually along with a 10% retainer.

8. If a cricketer wants to be released before his contract expires, he can request the franchise to do so. On the other hand, if a team wants to release a player before the contract is over, they will have to pay the player for the full term for which he was initially contracted.

9. If a player gets injured during the tournament, the franchise will have to look after the medical expenses of the treatment for the concerned player.

10. While some franchises pay the salaries to the player at once, others tend to go for instalments. This depends on how affluent the franchise is and how the sponsorship money and other such avenues of profit generation are coming in. Cash-rich franchises generally tend to hand out cheques to the players at the first team camp before the tournament begins.

However, others may release 50% of the salary prior to the tournament and the remaining once it has commenced. There is also a 15-65-20 formula that can be implemented by a franchise, where a player gets 15% of his salary before the season, 65% when the season has started, and the remaining 20% within a stipulated time after the tournament concludes.