MPBL to impose 'strict' salary cap rule

MANILA, Philippines — To control  the skyrocketing salaries of players in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League, the Commissioner’s Office is now strictly implementing a cap allowance rule for all the players.

Each player should receive a minimum of Php15,000 and should not exceed a monthly allowance of Php50,000, according to league commissioner Kenneth Duremdes.

“Yun ang nasa guidelines natin. We’re basing it that way because we’re still an amateur league,” Duremdes told the team owners/managers during their meeting at the Century Hotel in Manila.

This means that teams will have to comply with the guidelines as violators will be given stiff sanction bu the league.

“If a team is complaining that another team is giving a certain player more than the maximum allowance required, kailangan namin ng black and white proof na yung player ito is receiving yung certain amount na pinirmahan niya,” added Duremdes.  

This developed as the league will also now implement strict measures on players transferring to another team. By the coming third season, players whose contracts have already expired, will need to get a release paper from their mother team first before moving to another squad.  

“Iniiwasan natin dito yung sulutan,” said Sen. Manny Pacquiao, founder and chief executive officer of the MPBL.  

Commissioner Duremdes added that such procedure would require players to practice courtesy and show their appreciation to the teams they’ve played for and helped them shape up their respective careers.

Just recently, players, including the marquee ones, have transferred from one team to another, leaving their previous squads no hold on the players who have become a big part of their respective campaigns last season.

The implementation of the salary cap, according to Duremdes, would give each team equal chances of getting the best players while maintaining the status of the league as an amateur.