On September 24, official news announced that starting from 2026, the J.League will implement reforms to player contracts.
Official news stated that in order to improve the welfare of professional football players and promote a competitive environment for Japanese football clubs, the goal is to be achieved by amending the relevant player contract system.
The minimum annual salary limit for new players in J1 will be set at 48 million yen (approximately 2.3 million RMB), including signing fees and appearance fees, with an upper limit not exceeding 20 million yen, almost doubling from the previous 6.7 million yen.
Meanwhile, the lower limit for J2 is 3.6 million yen (approximately 1.8 million RMB), and for J3, it is 2.4 million yen (approximately 1.2 million RMB).
In addition, according to the player’s marital status and the situation of supporting the elderly, an annual subsidy not exceeding 5 million yen will also be increased.
According to sources, the purpose of this move is to improve the treatment of rookie players, making the J.League more attractive, as an increasing number of players are opting to join European clubs directly after high school or university instead of joining Japanese clubs.
Doubled! Official: J.League Rookie Players’ Minimum Annual Salary Set to Million Yen with a Maximum of Million from 2026. Author：Sports UEFA.Please indicate the source when reproduced：https://www.sportsuefa.com/football-world/doubled-official-j-league-rookie-players-minimum-annual-salary-set-to-million-yen-with-a-maximum-of-million-from-2026.html
