PKL Auction 2025: What is new in Final Bid Match (FBM) option in Pro Kabaddi?

The player auction ahead of Season 12 of the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) is taking place on May 31 and June 1 in Mumbai.

The 12 PKL teams will be looking to build their squads ahead of the 2025 season. Each of the franchises must have a minimum of 18 players in their squad, with the upper limit being set at 25.

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All released players ahead of the auction will not necessarily find new teams this season. Players that have been released can make their way back to their previous teams through the FBM (Final Bid Match) route.

What is the FBM option in the Pro Kabaddi League Auction?

The Final Bid Match option or FBM allows team to match the final bid made for a player released from their ranks during the auction. This option was introduced from Season six of the Pro Kabaddi League.

How does the new FBM rule work?

When a player who was part of a team in Season 11 receives the highest bid from another franchise, the auctioneer will ask the player’s previous team if they’d like to exercise their FBM.

If they choose to do so, they must immediately raise either the one-season or two-season FBM card — whichever card is raised first will be considered final.

If the team exercises the FBM, the player is awarded to them at the final bid price. If they do not, the player goes to the highest bidder.

How many times can the new FBM option be used in PKL Auction?

The Final Bid Match card can only be used thrice by a team during the PKL Auction, but is subject to the number of elite players retained by the teams.

If the team has retained the maximum quota of six players then it will be eligible to use the FBM card only once. However, the card usage increases if the team has retained only five or lesser players.

A team that has retained four or less players will be eligible to use all their FBM cards.

For the 2025 auction, all twelve teams are eligible to use their FBM cards.