What is the Contract embargo? BBL Trading System explained

The 2026 Big Bash League's contract embargo started today, January 28 and will continue till February 5. This is a peak time where the teams will make a map of who to take from the other teams and build a squad of them. But what is this CONTRACT EMBARGO?

Notably, the Big Bash League is a league of its own with its own unique rules and regulations, and the embargo is one of a kind. During this period of embargo, a team, or rather a club, can't officially sign its own player and extend an extinguished contract. It can't even sign any other player, overseas or not, who are not playing in any of the clubs in the BBL. Such signings will have to wait till the embargo ends, or will have to be completed before the embargo starts

However, unlike most embargoes, the BBL embargo encourages player trading during this phase. It was introduced in 2024, when the official tradings were allowed between rivals during the 10 days.

This 10-day period is called as the Player Movement Window, where teams can

• Trade players with other clubs, even without getting a player in return.

• Sign players from another club who are in the final year of their contract.

• Trade overseas player draft positions as part of roster deals.

Read also: Glenn maxwell signs two year contract with Melbourne Stars just before BBL contract embargo

Penalties for Breaking the Embargo

The BBL’s contracting rules are taken seriously by Cricket Australia’s Integrity Unit, and breaking them can result in fines and sanctions. In 2014, several clubs were fined hefty amounts for signing players outside the permitted contracting period during the embargo.

10000 dollars were fined for each player signed during the embargo. The Hobart Hurricanes, who signed Ben Dunk and Alex Hales, were fined with $20,000. However, half of the penalty was relaxed as the club fully cooperated with the investigation. Sydney Sixers suffered the same for signing Moises Henriques during this period. Notably, the penalties are determined by CA's Integrity Unit after a full investigation.

How is it different from IPL trading?

Unlike the BBL, the IPL does not operate under a contract embargo. The IPL follows a continuous trade system built around a central player auction and formal retention rules. Franchises can trade contracted players during defined windows before and after the auction, subject to salary cap limits and player consent.

Teams are also allowed to retain players directly ahead of the auction, removing them from the auction pool. Overseas players can be traded if under contract. All trades and retentions require approval from the BCCI, which oversees compliance and can reject irregular deals.