Guide · the offer

Overseas basketball contract checklist

You have a first overseas offer. This is the list of what to verify in it before you sign: the money, the apartment, how long it lasts, how you can leave, the agent fee, the visa, flights, insurance and bonuses. It is for college players and other players in the US who are looking at a first contract abroad.

The checklist

1. Cash. Net or gross, currency, payday, and how many months are paid.
2. Housing and benefits. Apartment, utilities, meals, local transport.
3. Length and exit. Start, end, injury, release, and any buyout.
4. Agent fee. Who pays, and that the total stays within FIBA's 10% cap. Agent fees →
5. Visa. The club usually files it after the offer. Visa guide →
6. Flights and medical cover. The ticket home, and what an injury does to your pay.
7. Bonuses. A written trigger, or they are not pay you can count.
8. Red flags. No pay-to-play, no blank contract, no pressure to sign at a camp. Camp checklist →

Money: gross, net, currency, payday

Write the salary as one sentence you could read back to the club. The amount, whether it is net or gross, the currency, the day you are paid, and the number of months. "Net" means the amount you expect to receive. "Gross" means the amount before tax and before anything else taken out. A gross number looks larger. Ask what is deducted: tax, the agent fee, fines, or anything else the contract allows the club to withhold.

Currency is part of the amount. If the contract is in euros or another currency, the dollar figure you had in your head is a conversion, and conversions move. Ask who converts it, and whether the contract names a rate or simply "the rate on payday".

A monthly number is not a season salary until you multiply it by the months they will actually pay. Preseason is a common gap. Ask whether those weeks are paid. Late pay needs a sentence too: which day of the month, and what you can do if that day passes. Get that in the contract, not in a text message.

Use the ranges below only as a neighborhood check. They are the same medians as on agent fees, grouped by our entry-friendliness estimate. They are not offers, and they are not a target for your negotiation.

*Estimates from our index of 315 leagues. "Housing usually included" counts leagues whose editorial housing tag is "usually". Median import range is the median of the low ends and the median of the high ends, in USD, for leagues that list a range and have an entry-friendliness score. 54 of those 78 ranges are a monthly figure times an estimated season length (4, 5, 6, 8 or 9 months). 15 were converted from euros; the rate we used is in that league's salary basis, and it is not your contract's rate. 65 leagues have no entry-friendliness score and are left out of the bands. Small samples are rough. Compare the full salary table and each league page.

On that entry-friendly median, about $10k–$20k a season (n=29), a full 10% agent fee would be about $1,044–$2,000. The cap is explained below. Women's ranges on their own are in the women's salary table. The medians here mix men's and women's leagues, so they match the agent-fees table.

Housing and the rest of the package

Housing is an editorial tag in our index, not a promise from a club. We mark it "usually" on 169 of 315 leagues. One other league is tagged "yes", which we keep separate from "usually". 65 leagues have no housing tag, so they are not in that count. In the entry-friendly band, the "usually" tag is on 45 of 68 leagues. Of the 29 entry-friendly leagues that also list a salary range, 26 carry that tag.

At the level where a lot of first contracts sit, the index usually shows housing as part of the package. An offer with no apartment can still be fine. The cash number then has to cover rent, or the contract has to say why housing is not included. Either way, write it down.

• The apartment. Who provides it, from which date, and whether you can see the address before you fly.
• Utilities. Power, heat, water and internet. "Apartment included" often stops at the rent.
• Meals or a meal allowance, and whether it is cash you can count.
• Local transport. A car, a driver, or a transit pass. If none of these is written, assume you are paying for it.
• If you are released. Ask how many days you keep the apartment, and who pays for those days.

Length, injury, release and buyout

Get the start date, the end date, and the number of paid months in writing, including whether preseason is paid. Then get three exits: injury, the club releasing you, and you leaving.

• Injury. Does pay continue, continue for a shorter period, or stop? The contract should pick one. A handshake that "we'll look after you" is not a clause.
• Release. How much notice the club must give, whether remaining salary is paid, and whether housing and the flight home survive the release.
• You leaving. Notice you must give, and any buyout. If there is a buyout, write the amount, the currency, and who is allowed to pay it (you, or a new club). If the contract has no number, ask for one before you sign.

We are not describing a country's labor code. Clubs and contracts differ. The check is whether the page in front of you answers these questions. If a line is missing, ask for it in the document you sign.

The agent fee and the 10% cap

Under FIBA's Internal Regulations, an agent's total pay related to a player contract may not exceed 10% of that contract's value. The agent contract itself has to be in writing. Source: FIBA Internal Regulations Book 3. The worked examples, including who pays in practice, are in agent fees.

• Ask whether the club pays the fee on top of your salary, or whether it comes out of your pay. Both happen. The cap is on the total, either way.
• Ask whether the 10% is calculated on the gross figure or the net figure. Ten percent of gross costs you more if tax comes out as well.
• A payment to "get you a team", before any offer exists, is a different thing from a commission on a signed contract. Treat the upfront fee as a stop sign.
• Check the license yourself in two minutes, on FIBA's site, before you sign a representation deal.

Visa and work permit

The work visa or residence permit comes after a real offer. In the usual pattern the club sponsors it, because the club is the employer. The contract should say who files the paperwork and which government fees, if any, the club pays. Pay any fee you do owe only through the official channel that country names.

A fee to an agent, a camp, or a stranger to "open a visa" before the offer exists is a red flag. So is a plan to enter as a tourist and start the season anyway. The steps, and the official pages we could cite, are in the visa guide. A FIBA Letter of Clearance is a separate basketball document for the transfer. It is not the visa, and it is not a substitute for the contract.

Flights, medical and insurance

• Flights. Who buys the ticket to the club, and the ticket home. Ask what happens to the return flight if you are released or injured in month two. Extra trips (a holiday, a family visit) count only when they are written.
• When to book. Keep the ticket refundable until the contract is signed and the club confirms you can enter to work. A contract date and a visa date are different dates. More on that sequence →
• Medical cover. Who provides it, the date it starts, and whether it is named in the contract. Ask for the policy or a written description. We do not list required coverage by country.
• Injury and pay belong in the same conversation as the insurance. Cover for the hospital bill, and salary while you cannot play, are two different lines.

If the contract leaves the ticket, the utilities or the days before payday with you, that cash is yours to bring. What players spend before an offer exists, including published tryout fees and the reason an agent should not be an upfront bill, is in what it costs to play overseas.

Performance bonuses

Bonuses are real money only when the trigger is written and you could explain it to a teammate. Games played, team results, a statistical line, a playoff appearance: whatever the club means, the contract should name it, the amount, the currency, whether it is net or gross, and when it is paid.

A bonus that depends on a coach's opinion, with no measure, is not a number you can budget. Count the guaranteed monthly salary. Treat bonuses as extra. Ask whether a bonus can be cancelled if you are released before the trigger date.

Red flags

• Pay-to-play. You paying the club, a middleman, or an agent in order to be signed. A legitimate contract pays you.
• No written contract, or a contract only in a language you cannot read, with no translation you trust. You sign it yourself. Read it first.
• Pressure to sign at a camp, or before you have left the gym. Licensed agents are not supposed to solicit players during camps or competitions. Is this camp legit? →
• A guaranteed contract from a camp, an agent, or a message from someone who is not the club. Confirm the club on the league's official site. League sites are linked from the league index.
• An upfront visa fee or agent fee, or a request for passport scans from a contact you have not verified on a live call.

The offer is the document. Where players in your spot usually find that offer is a different page: your first pro contract. The wider path, if you are earlier than an offer, is playing overseas after college.

FAQ

What should I check before signing an overseas basketball contract?

Read a written contract in a language you understand, and sign it yourself. Check whether the salary is net or gross, which currency it is in, the payday, and how many months are paid. Then housing and utilities, the start and end dates, what happens if you are injured or released, flights home, medical insurance, and the agent fee. The club usually files the work visa after the offer. This is a checklist, not legal advice.

Is an overseas basketball salary net or gross?

The contract has to say which. Net is the amount you expect to receive. Gross is the amount before tax and other deductions. Also write down the currency, the day of the month you are paid, and the number of paid months. A monthly quote times a season length you assumed is a different number from a written season total. Ranges on our salary table are estimates for comparison, not your offer.

How much can a basketball agent charge on an overseas contract?

Under FIBA's Internal Regulations, total agent pay related to a player contract may not exceed 10% of that contract's value. The written agent contract should say who pays, how the fee is calculated, and when it is due. On the entry-friendly median range in our index (about $10k–$20k, n=29), 10% is about $1,044–$2,000. That is the cap, not a quote. A fee paid before any club offer, to "get you a team", is a red flag.

What are the red flags in an overseas basketball offer?

Paying a club, an agent, or a camp to be signed. No written contract, or a contract you cannot read. Pressure to sign before you leave a camp. A guaranteed deal from someone who is not the club. An upfront visa fee or agent fee. A club you cannot find on the league's official site. Stop, and do not send money or passport scans, until you can check the camp and the agent yourself.