The winner was Doosan. Doosan signed a mega contract with Yang Eui-ji for up to six years and 15.2 billion won. 먹튀검증 The largest contract in the history of the KBO league was renewed through Doosan and Yang Eui-ji in November last year. Yang Eui-ji, who signed his first FA contract with NC in the winter of 2018 for four years and 12.5 billion won, can receive up to 27.7 billion won for 10 years until 2028.

This winter is different. Like Yang Eui-ji, there is no fierce competition for recruitment between S-class players. There are no players in the market who can sign a contract worth 10 billion won, but there are many so-called mid-sized FA. In addition to Yang Seok-hwan, who was ranked fifth in the home run category this year, players such as Jeon Joon-woo, An Chi-hong, Lim Chan-kyu, Kim Jae-yoon, Ham Deok-ju, and Hong Geon-hee, who will increase the team’s power, are in the market.

However, among them, only Jeon Joon-woo, An Chi-hong and Kim Jae-yoon have decided their destinations. Jeon Joon-woo stayed with Lotte, An Chi-hong moved to Hanwha and Kim Jae-yoon to Samsung. All three signed contracts early in the market opening, and the stove league seemed to be heating up, but there was no movement after that. There were many expectations that it would become active again after the second draft on the 22nd, but the FA contract will not come out even a week after the second draft.

The cause is clear. There is no ‘competition’ which is a key factor in creating the market price. In the case of Jeon Joon-woo and An Chi-hong, there was competition between their previous teams and other teams, and the destination was quickly decided. Kim Jae-yoon’s contract was completed as KT did not chase the amount offered by Samsung. Usually, the club comes into contact with the targeted FA as soon as the market opens. The contract will be concluded through price competition with the original team by quickly conveying the intention to recruit. There are only three such cases in this stove league: Jeon Joon-woo, An Chi-hong and Kim Jae-yoon.

As a result, salary caps forced each club to tighten their belts. It is burdened by more than KRW 11.42638 billion based on the top 40 annual salary, which is the upper limit of luxury tax. In fact, no club has expressed its intention to take luxury taxes except for LG, which is aiming for its second consecutive win. In other words, if there is no justification for winning, it is not easy to exceed the salary cap baseline.

This trend can be maintained the following year. After the 2024 season, quality pitchers such as Ko Woo-suk, Ko Young-pyo, Choi Won-tae and Um Sang-baek will come to the market, and not all of them are expected to be eligible for recruitment competition. It is difficult to recruit the biggest fish as about 7 out of 10 teams are already facing the salary cap baseline. Luxury taxes cannot be avoided unless the average annual amount is lowered with a long-term contract or a specific contract structure is formed.

Ko Woo-suk has now opened up the possibility of entering the U.S. through posting. If Ko Woo-suk advances to the Major League this winter, he will not become a KBO league FA a year later. In this case, Ko Young-pyo will be the S-class fish in the 2025 FA market. It is clear that many teams will drool toward the native ace.

However, there will be no competitive structure like Yang Eui-ji. Only KT, the original team that can afford salary caps, or Kiwoom, can afford Ko Young-pyo’s value. If there is no competition between KT and Kiwoom, the size of the contract may be less than the value. Recruitment competition, which was common when there was no salary cap, is on the decline due to salary cap. It will also give a huge S-class contract. It will be until the 2025 season, when the salary cap standard is maintained at 11.42638 billion won.