On September 8, LCK announced an update to its official rulebook. The revisions were finalized on August 19 and will take effect on September 18. The most notable change is to the criteria for merit-based salary exemptions under the Sporting Financial Regulations, which directly affect luxury tax assessments.
The LCK’s salary framework is designed to curb excessive spending without imposing a strict ceiling on player earnings. Organizations that go beyond the league’s designated threshold are subject to a luxury tax, although certain portions of player salaries are exempt from the calculation.
Until now, two separate adjustments could significantly lower a player’s cap. Exceptional performers earned points during their whole career to be permanently eligible for a performance-based reduction, meaning that just 50% of their salary was included in the spending calculation. A separate incentive existed for long-term commitment: players who remained with the same organization for at least three consecutive seasons had only 70% of their salary counted. Those rules are now gone.
A Simple Six-Point Rule
With this revised version of the rulebook, both of these mechanisms are eliminated. Unlike the previous rules, which required meeting minimum thresholds in both domestic and international competitions simultaneously, the updated regulations require players to accumulate at least six points over the three-year evaluation window before the calculation start date to qualify for a 50% reduction of their salary toward their team’s cap, regardless of whether those points were earned through domestic or international titles.
According to the rulebook, the point distribution is as follows: one point is awarded for winning the LCK Cup, while an LCK regular-season title won before January 1, 2025 awards 1.5 points, reflecting the fact that the LCK was played across two splits per year at the time. Each LCK Season title won from 2025 onward awards 2 points, following the league's transition to a single-season format.
For international events, First Stand offers 1 point, and the Mid-Season Invitational remains at 2 points, whereas the World Championship has been increased from 2 points to 3 points. Meanwhile, a team can now designate a maximum of two players under the merit-based exemption.
As transitional relief for teams currently employing players who qualified under the previous criteria, a grandfathering provision has been introduced: players under contracts signed before July 19, 2026, who met the former requirements will retain their 50% salary cap reduction for the remainder of their existing contract terms. Teams employing these players can continue to receive the salary tax deductions throughout the duration of those agreements, even if the total exceeds the newly established two-player team cap.
Restructuring of Luxury Tax Thresholds
The LCK spending cap is set at 4 billion KRW, and payroll expenditures exceeding this threshold are subject to “luxury tax penalties”. A luxury tax is a common mechanism: this is a financial penalty imposed on teams whose total player spending exceeds a league-defined threshold, effectively making them pay extra for operating above the permitted spending level.
The luxury tax brackets, previously divided into two tiers, have been restructured into four tiers, with a top tax rate of 60% applied to spending exceeding 250% of the upper threshold. Meanwhile, to alleviate abrupt tax burdens on organizations, a transitional buffer has been introduced to adjust the tax increase proportionally based on the share of expenditures tied to preexisting contracts.
Which Players Will Be Affected by the Rulebook Update?
These regulatory changes regarding the luxury tax are poised to influence the upcoming offseason. Currently, players qualifying under the legacy merit criteria are Lee '
' Sang-hyeok, Jeong '
' Ji-hoon, Kim '
' Geon-bu, and Park '
' Jae-hyuk, all of whom will maintain their salary reductions post-revision. However, because Canyon's current contract is set to expire this year, any renewed agreement will be evaluated under the newly instituted merit-based criteria.
Looking ahead to the upcoming season, the pool of players qualifying under the new merit criteria is projected to expand considerably. T1's historic lineup members—Choi '
' Woo-je, Lee '
' Min-hyeong, Mun '
' Hyeon-jun, and Ryu '
' Min-seok—are positioned to be registered as newly recognized high-performing players starting next calculation window, driven by their international tournament achievements. Kim '
' Ki-in is likewise set to gain eligibility for the merit exemption based on the accumulated trophies won since 2024.
These projections could shift further depending on the outcomes of the upcoming LCK Finals and the 2026 World Championship. If players on long-term contracts secure championships and unlock merit exemptions, their teams will gain significantly broader strategic leeway heading into the offseason. Detailed information regarding the revised rulebook is available in the official news section on the LoL Esports website.
Increased Flexibility in Contract Terms
Provisions regarding contract durations have also been modified. For short-term contracts, the previous lower limit—requiring contracts to run from the start of the LCK Cup until the official global contract end date—has been removed, now allowing short-term agreements that conclude before the initial official end date.
For multi-year contracts, the phrasing specifying the official global contract end date of the contract's final year has been formally codified. This update reflects the league modernizing its regulatory framework in response to the growing prevalence of multi-year contracts and shifting trends in contractual terms.
