Average and median salaries at the 2026 Indian Premier League (IPL) auction slipped below levels seen in the previous two years, but pay at the very top of the market continued to rise—deepening earnings inequality among players.
A Moneycontrol analysis of auction data shows that the top 10 percent of players captured 51.4 percent of the total auction pool in 2026, up sharply from 42.4 percent in 2025. In contrast, the bottom 40 percent accounted for just 5.2 percent of total earnings, highlighting a widening gulf between marquee names and the rest of the squad.
This divergence is reflected in a rising IPL Palma ratio—a measure of inequality that compares the income share of the top 10 percent with that of the bottom 40 percent.
The ratio climbed to 9.9 in 2026, from 8.6 in 2025, and now sits well above levels seen in most pre-pandemic auctions. While still below the extreme highs recorded in 2015, 2017 and 2021, the trend points to a renewed concentration of payouts at the top.
Median pay cools despite higher base price
The widening inequality is unfolding even as typical salaries show signs of cooling. The median auction price fell to Rs 1 crore in 2026, from Rs 1.5 crore in 2025, reversing the steady post-pandemic climb. This came despite the base price being raised to Rs 30 lakh, from Rs 20 lakh in previous auctions.
Aggregate numbers reinforce the skew. Of the Rs 215.5 crore total auction pool in 2026, the top decile earned Rs 110.8 crore, more than half of all spending. Meanwhile, the bottom half of players took home just Rs 11.2 crore, underscoring how limited the trickle-down has been. While this imbalance is not new, it has become more pronounced since 2023, when total auction pools began fluctuating rather than expanding consistently.
Star payouts remain elevated
At the very top, headline numbers remain elevated. The highest-paid player fetched Rs 25.2 crore in 2026—slightly below the record Rs 27 crore seen in 2025, but still far above pre-2022 norms. The average price of the top five players stood at Rs 16.9 crore, easing from last year but remaining higher than in all auction cycles prior to 2023.
With more than half of the auction pool flowing to the top decile and single-digit shares left for the bottom 40 percent, the IPL’s salary structure is increasingly resembling a winner-takes-most market, even as the typical player sees pay stabilise or soften.
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