The newly launched UAE T20 League is set to become the second-most lucrative T20 league in the world with an overall salary cap of potentially $2.5 million per franchise. The players involved in the league are expected to be offered salaries up to $450,000 per season.
According to details, the highest-paid players in the league will earn $340,000 through their wages but the maximum salary that a player can get will rise up to $450,000 through ‘total direct payout’ which includes the wages and a loyalty bonus.
In comparison, the highest-paid players in the Indian Premier League (IPL) earn in excess of $2 million per season. Pakistan Super League (PSL) offers players more than $200,000 while the Hundred offers around $164,000 to the highest-paid players. Big Bash League (BBL) offers slightly more than PSL with the highest paid players earning around $238,000 per season, but the number of matches and the time duration makes it less lucrative than PSL.
The UAE T20 league has revealed that there will be a total of 9 wage slots for the players with the highest category of $340,000 while the lowest category wage slot is $10,000. Each team will have a minimum wage bill of $1.5 million, a $0.5 million loyalty bonus, and a $0.5 million bid purse, while the maximum wage bill will rise to $2.5 million.
The franchises are allowed to pick a maximum of 12 overseas players in their squad and a minimum of 3 local UAE players, one under-23 UAE player, and at least 2 players from associate nations to build up their squad of 18 players.
The UAE T20 League is set to be played just prior to the start of the eighth edition of the PSL. The inaugural edition of the tournament is scheduled to be held from 6 January to 12 February. The six-team tournament includes a total of 34 matches and will follow a similar format to the PSL.
