Transfers, Contracts & Roster Rules

How the player market operates, the difference between domestic and foreign talent, and how to negotiate contracts.

Player Origins & Foreigner Limits

European basketball prohibits assembling lineups purely of cheap foreign players. Every league enforces strict personnel quotas:

Domestic Players
Citizens of the club's own country — only they count as "domestic". Essential for quotas: every league mandates a minimum number of locals on the roster.
Who counts as a foreigner
The market is browsed in two categories (domestic / foreigners). Any player born in another country counts as a foreigner — even one from the EU. There is no “Bosman” exemption.
Foreigner Quota
Your roster shows foreigners as “X/Y” (the cap is set by your league). Once the cap is hit, offers are blocked. Before signing several foreigners in a row, count your locals and foreigners first.

Transfer Windows & Release Clauses

  • Free Agents (FA): Players without clubs. No acquisition fee is needed; only negotiate seasonal wages.
  • Release Clauses (Buyouts): Under-contract athletes can be bought out from the selling club — paying the release clause forces the sale. But the deal only closes if the player accepts your new contract offer (wage, length); he can still refuse.
  • Transfer Deadline: The inter-club market (Transfer List) stays open through the regular season (until D44) and closes for the playoffs and offseason (D45–68). Free agents and academy call-ups remain available all season.

The minimum tier (MIN 1Y)

The cheapest free agents carry a “MIN 1Y” badge — they accept a simple package: one year at the league minimum, with an open symbolic buyout and the right to leave for the NBA mid-season.

  • The exact package is always accepted. A “wants longer” note is only advice to negotiate normally, never a rejection.
  • Any change (longer term, higher wage, locked buyout, no NBA exit) sends you back to normal negotiations.
  • The GM trade-off: a cheap way to plug roster holes, but easy to lose — the symbolic buyout lets any club take him. The “At minimum” filter shows exactly this tier.

Negotiations: Patience, Morale & Loyalty

Contract negotiations are never guaranteed. Athletes weigh three critical factors before signing:

Loyalty
Loyal players often accept team-friendly discounts to stay with their franchise.
Morale & Role
Disgruntled bench warmers will refuse extensions and test the summer market.
Agent Patience
Attempts are limited: two failed offers to the same player per season close the talks, and a deeply unhappy player will not discuss an extension at all.

The dominant lever is money: an offer that meets the player’s demands is always accepted, one that falls short is always refused. The meter shows how the offer matches expectations, not a success chance: role, prestige and contract terms shift how much he demands.