All players in the SICHL sign contracts and are paid funds that are deducted from their team's financial reserves.
Players whose contracts expire ('0' years remaining) are eligible to become free agents. Depending on a player's age, teams may reserve the right to re-sign the player, or risk losing the player to an open-market bidding system where the player will sign with the highest bidder. Also depending on the player's age, the team losing the player may or may not receive compensation.
Players who have been drafted by an SICHL team must sign an entry level contract upon being rated for the first time. The only team eligible to sign a player to an entry level contract is the team that owns the player's rights. All entry level contracts are three years in duration (see 3.2.7 Contract Durations).
Entry level contracts are determined by the round of the entry draft the player was drafted in.
| Round | Contract |
|---|---|
| 1 | $950,000/year |
| 2 | $900,000/year |
| 3 | $850,000/year |
| 4 | $800,000/year |
| 5 | $750,000/year |
| 6 | $700,000/year |
| 7 | $650,000/year |
| 8 | $600,000/year |
| 9 | $550,000/year |
| 10-12 | $525,000/year |
No player may be signed to an SICHL contract until they are rated. Non-rated players will be placed on their team's prospect list.
This table is referenced throughout this section of the rulebook. Generally it provides the MINIMUM amount that a player will re-sign for and is based on their OV rating at the time of the free agency period. In some cases, players may sign for less (e.g. UFA bidding). The table is rebuilt every year based on the distribution of OV ratings.
| OV Rating | 2025-2026 Minimum Signing Salary | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | Defense | Goalie | |
| 85+ OV | $11,000,000 | $9,000,000 | $12,000,000 |
| 84 OV | $11,000,000 | $9,000,000 | $12,000,000 |
| 83 OV | $11,000,000 | $9,000,000 | $12,000,000 |
| 82 OV | $11,000,000 | $9,000,000 | $12,000,000 |
| 81 OV | $11,000,000 | $9,000,000 | $10,000,000 |
| 80 OV | $10,000,000 | $9,000,000 | $9,000,000 |
| 79 OV | $9,000,000 | $9,000,000 | $8,500,000 |
| 78 OV | $8,000,000 | $9,000,000 | $8,000,000 |
| 77 OV | $7,000,000 | $8,000,000 | $7,500,000 |
| 76 OV | $6,250,000 | $7,000,000 | $7,000,000 |
| 75 OV | $5,500,000 | $6,000,000 | $6,500,000 |
| 74 OV | $5,000,000 | $5,000,000 | $6,000,000 |
| 73 OV | $4,500,000 | $4,250,000 | $5,500,000 |
| 72 OV | $4,000,000 | $4,000,000 | $5,000,000 |
| 71 OV | $3,500,000 | $3,000,000 | $4,500,000 |
| 70 OV | $3,000,000 | $2,000,000 | $4,000,000 |
| 69 OV | $2,000,000 | $1,500,000 | $3,500,000 |
| 68 OV | $1,750,000 | $1,000,000 | $3,000,000 |
| 67 OV | $1,500,000 | $1,000,000 | $2,500,000 |
| 66 OV | $1,000,000 | $900,000 | $2,000,000 |
| 65 OV | $900,000 | $900,000 | $1,500,000 |
| 64 OV | $900,000 | $900,000 | $1,000,000 |
| 63 OV | $800,000 | $800,000 | $900,000 |
| 62 OV | $800,000 | $800,000 | $800,000 |
| 61 OV | $800,000 | $800,000 | $800,000 |
| 60 OV | $700,000 | $800,000 | $750,000 |
| 59 OV | $700,000 | $700,000 | $750,000 |
| 58 OV | $700,000 | $600,000 | $750,000 |
| 57 OV | $700,000 | $600,000 | $750,000 |
| 56 OV | $700,000 | $600,000 | $750,000 |
| 55 OV | $700,000 | $600,000 | $750,000 |
| 54 OV | $600,000 | $525,000 | $750,000 |
| 53 OV | $600,000 | $525,000 | $750,000 |
| 52 OV | $525,000 | $525,000 | $750,000 |
| 51 OV | $525,000 | $525,000 | $750,000 |
| 50 OV | $525,000 | $525,000 | $750,000 |
| <50 OV | $525,000 | $525,000 | $750,000 |
The league minimum salary for ANY player is $525,000.
Restricted Free Agents (RFAs), are free agents who are younger than 29 years of age (in SICHL years - see 1.2.2.3 Player Age) for the new season about to begin (when the free agency period occurs).
With RFAs, teams may: (1) extend the player's contract by re-signing the player to a pre-defined raise or minimum re-signing salary, (2) make a qualifying offer to the player, or (3) sever ties with the player.
Teams may re-sign Restricted Free Agents to a new contract with a salary equal to either the Salary Matrix (based on his current OV-rating - see 3.2.2 Salary Matrix or his previous contract's salary, whichever is GREATER.
E.g. Player A made $5,000,000 in the final season of his contract. The Salary Matrix (3.2.2) indicates that based on his new OV rating his value on the open market is $4,250,000. However, a player will not extend a contract for an amount lower than his previous salary, so the minimum value for a contract extension will be $5,000,000 per season.
If a team chooses not to extend the contract of an RFA (see 3.2.3.1 Extending Contracts), but wishes to retain the player's rights, the team may make a qualifying offer to the player. A qualifying offer must be worth, at minimum, 85% of the player's previous annual salary. Upon signing the qualifying offer, the player will enter the bidding process with an opening bid equal to the qualifying offer + $1 (see 3.2.6 The Bidding Process).
When the bidding process is complete, the team holding the player's rights can either match the winning offer's amount and term, or receive compensation from the team that won the bidding in the form of draft picks (see 3.2.3.2.1 Compensation).
If the player did not receive any bids during the bidding process, he will re-sign with the team owning his rights for one year at the amount of the qualifying offer.
Any team that loses an RFA to another team via the bidding process is entitled to draft pick compensation from the new team. The draft pick compensation scale is based on the annual salary offered by the new team.
| Salary Offer | Compensation |
|---|---|
| $6,500,001 or more | Three first-round picks. |
| $5,500,001 - $6,500,000 | Two first-round picks and one second-round pick. |
| $4,500,001 - $5,500,000 | Two first-round picks. |
| $3,500,001 - $4,500,000 | First- and second-round pick. |
| $2,500,001 - $3,500,000 | First-round pick. |
| $1,500,000 - $2,500,000 | Second-round pick. |
| $1,000,001 - $1,499,999 | Third-round pick. |
| $1,000,000 or below | No compensation. |
Compensation must be paid within the number of years of picks awarded plus two years, and will be awarded in the shortest time frame possible, with higher picks being awarded first if possible. No more than one pick will be lost per entry draft per compensatory package. No picks acquired by trade may be used as compensation.
E.g. If the awarded compensation is two first and one second round draft picks, for a total of three picks, the compensation must be paid within the next five years.
Note: Any team unable to pay the draft pick compensation required for a winning bid as specified by the above guidelines will forfeit all RFA bids in the current FA group and the player is awarded to the team with the next highest bid. The team's bids on UFAs would still be valid, however.
If a team chooses not to extend the contract of a RFA (see 3.2.3.1 Extending Contracts), nor wishes to retain the player's rights (see 3.2.3.2 Qualifying Offers), the team may choose to sever ties with the player. In this scenario, the player will enter the bidding process as a UFA, and no compensation will be awarded to the team losing the player (see 3.2.6 The Bidding Process).
Unrestricted free agents, (UFAs), are players who are 29 years of age or older (in SICHL years - see 1.2.2.3 Player Age) for the upcoming season when the free agency period starts, all RFAs that were not tendered qualifying offers from their previous teams, and all players on the unassigned players list after the amateur draft.
With UFAs, teams may either re-sign the player by applying the Franchise tag to the player (see 3.2.5 Franchise Players), or risk losing the player in the bidding process for no compensation (see 3.2.6 The Bidding Process).
Signing bonuses are one mechanism a team can use during the bidding process (See 3.2.6 The Bidding Process) to entice players to sign with your team over another. Although not mandatory, signing bonuses contribute to the perceived value of a contract at a rate of 115% of the dollar value, as a signing bonus cannot be bought out because it is paid immediately upon signing.
Any team not able to pay all of the signing bonuses for the players it wins in a group will have ALL of its bids invalidated for that group, and will be fined 15% of the total amount of the signing bonuses it had agreed to pay. In the event of a second offense, the offending team will be fined 25% of the total amount of the signing bonuses it had agreed to pay, and will be banned from further bidding for the remainder of the free agent season.
E.g. If a team owes $20 million in signing bonuses, but has only $10 million in the bank, the team will be fined 15% of the $20 million owed ($3 million, leaving the team with $7 million).
Franchise players are players who forego unrestricted free agency to re-sign with their existing teams. Players carrying the Franchise tag cannot be traded, nor waived and teams can only have one franchise player at any given time.
A player is eligible to receive the franchise tag if the following conditions are met:
If a team has a player eligible for the franchise tag, they may choose to re-sign the player. The contract value is determined by the Salary Matrix (see 3.2.2 Salary Matrix)
Once re-signed, the player will be designated as the team's Franchise Player for the length of the contract minus one year, to a minimum of one year.
If a team does not have a player eligible for the Franchise tag, or chooses not to exercise this option in a given year, they will not be compensated in any way.
The Bidding Process is the auction in which teams bid on unsigned free agents. RFAs that are not signed to contract extensions (see 3.2.3.1 Extending Contracts) and UFAs not designated as Franchise players (see 3.2.5 Franchise Players) are eligible for the bidding process.
All eligible free agents will be placed randomly into five groups. The Free Agency Administrator (freeagent@sichl.com) will release the groups prior to the beginning of the bidding process, along with the minimum bid for all players. RFAs enter the bidding pool with a minimum bid equal to the qualifying bid + $1. UFAs enter the bidding pool with a minimum bid equal to the league's minimum salary ($525,000).
The bidding process for each group will be two rounds long.
Prior to each round of bidding, a bid sheet will be sent out to all GMs. This bid sheet must be returned to freeagent@sichl.com by the announced deadline in order to be considered. Bid sheets received after the announced deadline are invalid.
At the end of the first round of bidding, only bids within 25% (or $250,000, whichever is greater) of the highest perceived value offered on each player will be considered; all other teams will be eliminated from bidding on that player. Players who do not receive any bids in the first round will accept bids from all teams in the second round.
The second round is the final round. When making your bid on a player in the 2nd round, you may adjust any aspect of your bid in round one so long as the perceived value is the same or higher than your submission in the 1st round. The General Manager who makes the highest bid in the second round officially tenders the winning bid and the contract details are locked. For all RFAs, the team that originally held the player's rights will have the option to either match the top offer or accept compensation (see 3.2.3.2.1 Compensation)
Contracts valued at less than $1,500,000/season may be designated as two-way contracts. Players on two-way contracts and who play less than 41 regular season games on the pro roster will earn 10% of their contract value while on the farm roster. Players who play more than 41 regular season games on the pro roster will earn their full pro salary while on the farm roster.
Contracts valued at $1,500,000/season or greater are not eligible to be sent to the farm roster.
Contracts valued at less than $1,500,000/season may be designated as one-way contracts. Players on one-way contracts are farm-eligible, but will earn 100% of their contract value while on the pro or farm roster.
All entry level contracts are three years in duration.
All other contracts may be maximum 4 years in duration.
Contracts signed after October 3, 2023, will be valid and enforced until expiry or the player is bought out. Players that are no longer rated will be suspended and continue to be paid until their contract expires or is bought out.
Players, under the age of 29, returning to the SICHL after a hiatus who are no longer under an existing contract do not abide by the standard entry level contracts, and accept the minimum signing salary (see 3.2.2 Salary Matrix) based on their new OV rating for a duration of two years.
Players returning to the SICHL after a hiatus who have a valid existing contract will be restored to your roster and be eligible to play out the remainder of the contract.
Players that are not owned by a team but who become rated are placed on the unassigned players list and are initially available to teams through the bidding process as UFAs (see 3.2.6 The Bidding Process). If not signed through the bidding process they become "Unassigned Players".
Rated players whose rights are not owned by any team (players appearing on the Unassigned Players List) may be signed at any point during the regular season.
To sign a player from the Unassigned Players List, teams must email their intentions to transactions@sichl.com. If no other team expresses interest before the next gametime, the player will sign for 1 year at league minimum salary. If more than one team is interested in a player, the player will enter the bidding process with only the interested teams participating (see 3.2.6 The Bidding Process).
Players whose contracts include a No Trade Clause (NTC) as a result of the winning contract signed through the Unrestricted Free Agency bidding process (see 3.2.6 The Bidding Process) cannot be traded to another team while under contract. No Trade Clauses prevent the player from being traded but teams are allowed to waive the player and/or buy out the remaining term on the contract.