IPL 2025: Players set for earnings boost with introduction of match fees

Players in the 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL) are about to get a big boost in their earnings, thanks to a new match fee introduced by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Each player will now earn INR 7.5 lakh (around £7,100) per game, in addition to their regular player contracts. This means teams will pay players for each game they play during the season.

BCCI secretary Jay Shah shared the news on X (formerly Twitter), announcing that each team will set aside INR 12.60 crore (about £1 million) to cover match fees for the entire season. This money will be separate from the budget teams use to buy players at the auction.

Here’s how it breaks down: for each match, the 12 players on the team sheet will share INR 90 lakh as match fees. Over 14 league matches, this totals INR 12.60 crore for the season.

While the BCCI hasn’t officially informed the ten IPL teams about this change, it is expected soon. The teams are also waiting for final rules on which players they can keep ahead of the big auction for the 2025 season. However, teams were given a heads-up during a July meeting with IPL officials, where they talked about retention rules.

The IPL wants to give players more financial incentives because teams are now making more money than before. One reason for the match fees is to help players who were signed at lower prices but have since become more valuable. In the 2024 auction, the lowest base price for uncapped players was INR 20 lakh (around £19,000), while for capped players, it was INR 50 lakh (around £47,000).

For example, Royal Challengers Bangalore’s batter Rajat Patidar was signed for his base price of INR 20 lakh when he was an uncapped player. After making it to the Indian national team, his salary increased to INR 50 lakh. In the 2024 season, he played 15 matches. Under the new system, he would have earned an extra INR 1.125 crore (£107,000) just from match fees.

Some teams raised questions about this new match fee system, particularly regarding players who don’t play many matches. In the past, teams gave players a bonus based on the team’s performance, called Incremental Performance Pay. Some teams suggested having a set amount of money to reward players as they saw fit, but it seems the IPL has decided to go with the match fee system directly.