The League of Legends EMEA Championship (LEC) has lowered its player spending threshold to €1.65m for the 2027 season, down from the €2m figure used since the rules came in.
The change is set out in version 1.3 of the LEC Sporting Financial Regulations (SFR) Rulebook, last modified on September 24th. The LEC is the top League of Legends competition in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), and is run by Riot Games.
The SFR works much like a soft salary cap. A team's spending on its five highest-paid players is added up over a season, and a team that goes over the threshold has to pay a fee.
According to the rulebook, the regulations are designed to improve the 'long term economic and financial sustainability' of the league and its teams, and to promote 'better competitive balance'.
What changes for 2027?
The 2027 season runs from November 17th to November 15th 2027. However, the new €1.65m threshold applies from the start of this year's Global Contract Window, the offseason period in which teams can sign players.
The SFR Floor has also dropped, from €1m to €825,000. This is the minimum a team must spend to receive a share of the fees paid by others. The floor is always half the threshold. Unlike the threshold, it counts spending on every team member listed in the Global Contract Database, and not only the top five earners.
Alongside the yearly threshold, the league sets a Baseline Threshold. This is the lowest level the threshold can be set at in a given season. Last year's update had already cut the baseline from €2m to €1.2m for the 2027 and 2028 seasons. Version 1.3 adds a €1m baseline for 2029.
The notice the league must give before changing the baseline has also been shortened, from three seasons to two. There is an exception for what the rulebook calls a 'material market event', such as an insolvency or an unexpected change in league revenue. In that case, only two months' notice is required.
How the SFR fee works
If a team's top-five spend goes over the threshold, it pays 50% of the overspend as a fee. Once spending passes 150% of the threshold, which is €2.48m in 2027, everything above that point is charged at 100%.
For example, a team spending €2m on its top five players in 2027 would be €350,000 over the threshold. It would owe a fee of €175,000. Teams that go over by 5% or less are still in breach, but they do not pay a fee. If this happens twice in four seasons, a flat fee applies, worth 5% of the most recent threshold.
The money collected is split evenly. The league's half goes towards tier two talent development through the EMEA Regional Leagues (ERLs) and EMEA Masters. The other half is shared equally between teams that stayed at or under the threshold and met the floor.
Protection for existing contracts
The updated rulebook introduces Legacy Contract Protection for player deals signed on or before September 16th. For these players, the amount counted towards the threshold is capped at one fifth of it (€330,000 in 2027), or their actual pay if that is lower.
If a player on a protected deal signs an extension, the protection only lasts until the end date of the original contract. The reduction does not apply to the SFR Floor.
The LEC used a similar rule when the SFR launched. Players signed on or before September 11th 2023 were counted at a maximum of €400,000 for the 2024 season.
Tighter rules on releases and reporting
Version 1.3 also covers payments made when a player's contract is ended early. Severance, payment in lieu of notice and settlements linked to a player's pay all count towards a team's spend. They are counted in full in the season the termination takes effect, regardless of when the money is paid. League officials can exclude documented legal costs or damages that are unrelated to pay.
Teams now have to submit a transaction-level record for each player. It must show who paid, the gross amount, the date the payment was due and the date it was made, and how the team has classified it. A declaration confirming the figures must be signed by the team's Chairperson, CEO and Financial Director.
The burden of proof sits with the teams. If a team cannot back up how it has classified a payment, officials can count the full amount. A payment that isn't disclosed is still included, and repeated or intentional failures to disclose can lead to penalties.
Prize money from tournaments run by other operators is now excluded from the calculation, as Riot's own prize money already was. Leadership and good conduct bonuses have been added as examples of payments that do count. The threshold and floor for the 2028 season will be announced by September 30th 2027.
