The Hundred to conduct player auction for first-time ahead of 2026 season

The Hundred will introduce the player auction for the first-time in history ahead of the 2026 season. The five-year-old league will also increase salaries of the players for the next campaign. Earlier,

the process was different as players were allocated to teams via draft with a segment of salary tiers. However, this time, teams and pay set by an auction will take place in March. The salary for the men's tournament will soar by 45% to £2.05m per side, while the fund for the women’s side will rise by 100% to £880,000. The minimum pay for a female player will also increase by 50% with the contract upto £15,000.

On the recent developments, Vikram Banerjee, the Managing Director of the Hundred, remarked, "This is a hugely exciting time for the Hundred. These changes will help us make the competition even better, ensuring we get the best players in the world and improving the standard of cricket and level of entertainment further again.”

First auction for The Hundred will take place in March 2026

The Hundred’s maiden auction is set to take place in March 2026. At the highly expected event, there will be no right to match, but direct signings will be allowed as teams can get upto two overseas players and two centrally-contracted England players. The window for direct signings will extend from mid-November to mid-January.

Banerjee also expressed excitement on working with new team owners such as Sun Group, Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), and The RPSG Group who bought stakes in some Hundred teams. "Working alongside our new partners we've been exploring how we can take The Hundred forward and we've decided that moving to an auction will allow us to improve the competition. For a competition that has always been proud to innovate, we're delighted to be holding the first auction in major UK sport," added Banerjee.