LCK Introduces New Salary Regulations for League of Legends Teams
The LCK, the Korean division of League of Legends, has announced new regulations regarding player salaries for each team in the division. These regulations aim to ensure sustainable growth in the league and will be implemented from the 2023 offseason.
The new regulations include a hard salary cap for starting rosters, similar to traditional sports leagues like the NBA and MLB. The cap will be based on the total salary paid to the starting roster and will not include substitutes or benched players.
Additionally, the regulations include a luxury tax for teams that exceed the salary cap. Teams that spend over the maximum limit will be required to pay a luxury tax to those who spent below the cap. However, teams must reach the minimum level of the cap to be eligible for their share of the luxury tax.
There is no individual limit on how much a League player can earn, but the combined salaries of the starting roster must fall within a 30 percent level. However, there are exceptions to these limits. Players who have won five or more LCK splits or three top-tier international tournaments like MSI and Worlds will be exempt from 50 percent of their salary counting towards the cap. Currently, only T1’s Faker and Gen.G’s Peanut meet these exemptions.
Veteran players who have spent over three years with an organization will have 30 percent of their salary waived. If a player satisfies multiple exemptions, the discount will be increased to 30 to 40 percent.
The LCK stated that these new regulations aim to ensure the sustainable growth of teams, players, and the league by regulating salaries to an appropriate level. The introduction of agent authorization and rookie development programs in 2022 were also steps towards creating a more feasible league.
Gen.G’s CEO, Arnold Hur, had previously highlighted the financial struggles faced by League teams, despite high sponsorship revenue. He expressed hope that a new business model would be implemented to support struggling organizations.
These new regulations may be the solution that Hur and others have been advocating for, but their effectiveness will only be determined with time. In fact, many people have called for similar salary cap limits to be introduced in other regions following the LCK’s announcement.
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