The IPL auction is set to take place in Abu Dhabi on 16th December, and as the auction is getting closer, the speculation about which player is getting paid more and will be the highest paid is becoming stronger day by day. It is believed that Cameron Green and Jamie Smith are among the players who are going to earn crores in the auction. KKR and CSK will enter the auction with the highest purse. INR 64.3 crore and INR 43.4 crore, respectively.
But any foreign player will not get more than 18 crores from now on because of the maximum fee rule. In case any player earns more than 18 crores, the extra amount will go to the BCCI, and they will use the money for player welfare.
These rules came when foreign players earned more than Indian players in the auction, not only the Indian players, but it sometimes also degrades the value of other foreign players. In 2023, Starc earned 24.75 crores from KKR, and a few moments later, Cummins also earned 20.5 crores from SRH, which depressed the value of Sam Curran, who also got 18.5 crores from PBKS.
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The IPL governing council had introduced a few new rules for the 2025 IPL mega auction as they wanted to stop this type of disruption at the table, which does not do justice to the retained players. They first said that if a player does not register his name in the mega auction will not be able to register his name in the IPL mini auction, and also said that if a player gets bought and then asked to leave for any kind of reason will face a ban of two years. They also introduced the maximum fee rule, but it was sublimined as it was a mega auction. Now, in 2026, in a mini auction, the rule will be implemented strongly.
What is the Maximum fee rule?
The rule came when franchises expressed collective concern that some overseas players were registering exclusively for mini auctions to take advantage of the supply-demand imbalance. As a result, the IPL implemented a maximum fee rule stating that overseas players cannot be paid more than INR 18 crore, which is the highest amount allowed for franchises retaining players ahead of the 2025 mega auction.
In a note to franchises last year, the IPL said, "Any overseas player's auction fee at a small auction will be lower than the highest retention price [of INR 18 crore] and the highest auction price at the big auction. In case the highest auction price at the big auction is INR 20 crore, then INR 18 crore will be the cap. If the highest auction price at the big auction is INR 16 crore, then the cap will be INR 16 crore. The incremental amount over INR 16 or 18 crore, as the case may be, will be deposited with BCCI. The incremental amount deposited with BCCI will be utilised towards players' welfare."
However, the rule will not apply to Indian batters.
