EuroLeague announced that the competition will introduce a new financial fair-play system, which will get into full effect during the 2027–28 season. As the association made known, teams will have to comply with financial regulations similar to what the NBA is doing with its salary cap rules.
The teams operating over the threshold will have to compensate the other members for the league. As EuroLeague says in its official statement, the league will hope to promote transparent financial behavior and allow more competitive balance between the clubs.
For a more easy understanding in the example, remuneration is another term for the word ‘salary’.
As the EuroLeague announcement claims:
“The CBS will coexist with the already-active Financial Stability & Fair Play Regulations, like the overdue payables system or controls on the clubs’ overall financial position, among others, in order to:
1. Align stakeholders’ objectives by referencing minimum and maximum remuneration levels to the clubs’ collective generated revenue, strengthening the commercial partnership between players and clubs.
2. Promote sustainability and competitive balance by establishing player expenditure ranges that are equal for all teams in the competition based on the clubs’ collectively generated revenue.
3. Prevent inappropriate practices by monitoring each club’s compliance with pre-established levels prior to the registration of players each season.
4. Grow transparency among the participating teams.
The new Competitive Balance Standards have been developed over the last two seasons following a collaborative process with a committee of clubs and have been discussed and agreed to by the EuroLeague Players Association (ELPA).
The CBS represents a natural evolution of the existing Financial Stability & Fair Play Regulations to meet the current realities of the clubs and league by providing equal remuneration levels for all clubs based on the average collective revenues of EuroLeague clubs rather than each individual club’s revenue. This concept builds on the pan-European ecosystem of the league, harmonizing the impact of the different taxation models around the continent by valuing all indicators on net amounts.
The updated FSFPR will introduce three common remuneration levels for all teams—base, High and low—that will be calculated using the clubs’ average defined revenues (LCDR: game day, commercial and others) generated over a two-season period.
These levels will mark the minimum and maximum spend for each club on remunerations while allowing exceptions for certain players with the aim of attracting, developing and retaining the best talents. This is the first time that a mandatory minimum spend on players’ remuneration has been introduced within the FSFPR, guaranteeing that a minimum net of 32% of all collective revenues will be spent on EuroLeague athletes, thereby strengthening the partnership with the players whose contribution to revenue growth will directly impact their remuneration levels.”
