Section 0 - Salary Cap
Starting with S34:
Management budget will be folded into the existing salary cap, for a total budget of $70M per team. Minor League Budget will remain unaffected for the time being.


Section 1 - New Contract Rules
Starting in S33 (all contracts signed from the time of announcement must be in compliance with this):

1.1) Addition of a new salary cap tier, such that:

• Tier 5 = 1000-1299 TPE (4 mil)
  
• Tier 6 = 1300+ TPE (5 mil)
  

1.2) Maximum Contract Lengths based on existing contract tiers

• Tiers 1-4: 3 seasons maximum
  
• Tiers 5-6: No maximum length
  

It is illegal to circumvent the salary cap. Head office holds the right to determine if there is possible cap circumvention, and to take actions accordingly. If you are unsure if what you are doing may break any rules then you should message us first to ask.

1.3) The Hometown discount is eliminated

1.4) Released or Retiring Players
Current active and inactive release penalties apply. Note: "Active" and "inactive" contracts are defined at the time the contract is signed.

If a player retires before their contract is finished, their team will take a cap hit each season equal to 1/3 of the player's salary for that season.


Section 2 - Existing Contract Adjustments
One time only, during the offseason between S33 and S34:

2.1) All contracts will be brought in compliance with the new standards.

2.2) Contracts that are under the minimum value for the player's current tier will be adjusted up to the minimum salary commensurate with TPE level. Contracts that already exceed the minimum for the current salary tier will NOT be adjusted.

2.3) Contracts with remaining term that exceeds the maximum length for their adjusted salary will have their term adjusted to the maximum. (Example: If a player's salary is adjusted to $3M and they have 8 seasons remaining, their contract is adjusted to 3 seasons remaining as that is the maximum for a Tier 4 contract.) Contracts with less than maximum term remaining are not adjusted.

Note: TPE for contract adjustment is based on all TPE EARNED prior to the updating week during which the SHL playoffs conclude (including Championship Week PTs even if they are not tabulated until after the conclusion of that updating week). It does not matter when this TPE is claimed in an update thread, if it is earned before the final game of the playoffs it counts toward the contract adjustments.


Section 3 - Compliance Buyouts & Long Contracts
One time only, during the offseason between S33 and S34:

3.1) Compliance buyouts are available for GMs who feel they are necessary in order to manage these changes for their teams. Compliance buyouts will only be available in the offseason between S33 and S34 - players may be notified before the start of the offseason that they are being bought out, but they will count against the team's cap until the beginning of S33. Compliance buyouts will no longer be available once the S34 has begun. Players bought out in this fashion will not incur any ongoing penalty for their team, but are not eligible to be re-signed by that team until the following offseason (S35).

3.2) Contracts with remaining legal term greater than 5 seasons may be reduced to 5 seasons, if both player and GM agree to the change.