I'm afraid of being criticized I'm going to spend money, but why can't I hear about the contract. The clubs have their own wits

Nov 13, 2025

I'm afraid of being criticized I'm going to spend money, but why can't I hear about the contract. The clubs have their own wits
KIA-Doosan match held at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul on the 17th. KIA Park Chan-ho is practicing swing at the waiting at-bat. Jamsil = Reporter Jung Jae-geun cjg@sportschosun.com /2025.8.17/



As the marketplace was formed strangely, players and clubs were in a burdensome situation. The FA market situation is at this point in time when the final contract cannot be reached.

Days have passed since the FA market opened, but no player has signed a contract yet. The war of wits continues. KBO announced the list of 21 FA-approved players on the 8th, and they can freely sign contracts with all clubs, including overseas clubs, from midnight on the 9th. But almost four days later, no one signed an autograph.

Most of the domestic FA will also proceed with contracts from the biggest fish players. After clubs move quickly and sign high-priced players who want to sign contracts, they will proceed in stages by signing contracts with small and medium-sized players.




However, the market atmosphere is somewhat strange this year. There are certainly teams that want to spend money, but they are not willing to set the final price.

Currently, several clubs are interested in recruiting FA players. A case in point is Park Chan-ho. While Kang Baek-ho is expected to find out the atmosphere of the U.S. market first, Park Chan-ho is by far the biggest fish among the players who will remain in Korea.

I'm afraid of being criticized I'm going to spend money, but why can't I hear about the contract. The clubs have their own wits
KT-KIA match held at Kia Champions Field in Gwangju on the 1st. Kang Baek-ho, who scored during Hwang Jae-kyun's timely hit with two outs and runners on the first and third bases in the top of the third inning, is welcomed. Gwangju = Reporter Jeong Jae-geun cjg@sportschosun.com /2025.10.1/
In fact, there are several clubs that are active in recruiting Park Chan-ho. The original team KIA Tigers, Doosan Bears, KT Wiz, and Lotte Giants were expected to be a four-way match, but Lotte is unlikely to recruit a large FA this year.




KIA is also making all-out efforts to stay with Park Chan-ho, but it is also true that other teams who want Park Chan-ho are very interested. However, news of the contract has yet to be released.

A club official watching the market situation said "We were going to find out, but it's too expensive. First of all, the starting price was an amount I didn't even think about, so I took my foot out because I thought this wasn't right." Of course, it is a possible competition because of demand, but the common complaint among clubs is that the initial starting price itself is expensive.

It's not just Park Chan-ho's job. Even some pitchers, who have not been classified as big fish so far, have far exceeded expectations. Even if only two teams show interest, the ransom seems to skyrocket.




A club official who was interested in recruiting pitchers said "The clubs do not just use the market price to recruit players, but calculate and adjust the approximate amount by considering the details of the data." However, the player who we thought a contract of 1 to 2 billion won was reasonable is now being charged more than twice the amount, so I don't know what to do."

I'm afraid of being criticized I'm going to spend money, but why can't I hear about the contract. The clubs have their own wits
'Korea Series Integrated Winning IN Jamsil' event was held at Jamsil Stadium on the 1st. LG Kim Hyun-soo and Park Hae-min are enjoying the joy of winning with their fans. Jamsil = Reporter Park Jae-man pjm@sportschosun.com /2025.11.01/
This is the decisive reason why even clubs willing to invest to recruit big fish players are hesitating until the end. For now, clubs are very wary of the evaluation of 'overpay' even if they spend money hotly. In particular, even if the price has risen through public opinion, the aftermath is feared after signing the contract for the amount. I can't help but think about the worst result of 'What if I buy this player at such a high price and fail?'

In addition, all clubs that are willing to recruit FA will eventually receive additional support from their parent companies and buy players, so the evaluation of 'Overpay' is even more burdensome.

Of course, there are cases in which contracts worth 10 billion won or 15 billion won can be carried out coolly if there is confidence, but doubts remain that the atmosphere this year is that much.

I'm afraid of being criticized I'm going to spend money, but why can't I hear about the contract. The clubs have their own wits
A game between the LG Twins and the Doosan Bears at Jamsil Stadium on the 30th. Doosan's Lee Young-ha is pitching hard. Jamsil = Reporter Park Jae-man pjm@sportschosun.com /2025.09.30/
Another team practitioner who is interested in recruiting big fish players also said "I was definitely trying to invest, but this amount seems to be too overheated. No matter how much money it's not coming out of my pocket, I keep thinking about whether it's right to catch this player at this amount. "

In addition, several industry insiders who spoke about the FA situation said "It is said every year, but the monopoly of certain agents is getting worse. KBO should create institutional supplementary measures. It's a strange phenomenon that so many players are only focused on a specific agent."

First of all, the contracts are expected to proceed sequentially with the big fish players. However, due to this atmosphere, the pace of contract progress is slowing down.





This article was translated by Naver AI translator.