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KBO to introduce salary floor in 2027

Published: 24 Sep. 2025, 17:56 Updated: 24 Sep. 2025, 18:25

Daegu Samsung Lions Park is filled to capacity on Sept. 5. [SAMSUNG LIONS]

The Korean baseball league said it will introduce a salary floor for clubs in 2027 to ensure more balanced competition while also requiring teams to spend a certain amount of money on player wages.

The KBO announced the change on Wednesday, a day after the meeting of its board of directors, made up of club presidents.

The floor has been set at 6.06 billion won ($4.3 million), which is the average salary for the team with the lowest payroll over the past two years. The floor will be raised by 5 percent every year.

A first-time violator will be required to pay 30 percent of the amount below the floor. The second violation will result in a fine of 50 percent of the money below the floor. A team that fails to meet the floor for the third time must pay 100 percent of that shortage. These penalties will go toward the KBO's youth development fund.

In addition, the league will raise the salary cap by 5 percent annually from 2026 to 2028.

The cap for this season is 13.7 billion won and will be raised to 14.4 billion won for 2026, 15.1 billion won for 2027 and 15.9 billion won for 2028.

Teams that exceed the cap will face fines, though the amount has been lowered from 50 percent of the overage for first-time offenders to 30 percent.

Second-time violators previously had to pay 100 percent of the overage and fall nine slots in the first round of the next year's draft. But the league decided to lower that rate to 50 percent of the overage and removed the penalty on the draft position.

Teams that exceed the cap for a third time will now have to pay 100 percent of the overage, compared to 150 percent previously. They will also fall nine spots in the first round of the following year's draft.

The KBO explained that these changes were designed to encourage clubs to keep spending on players without worrying about financial consequences.

In a related change, teams will now be allowed to designate one "franchise player," half of whose salary will not count toward the salary cap.

That player must have spent at least seven seasons with his current team.

The KBO said the 2026 regular season will begin March 28, following the World Baseball Classic running from March 5 to 17. The All-Star Game has been set for July 11.

Yonhap