Final Bid Match in Pro Kabaddi auction: How does it work?

While Pro Kabaddi teams can release players ahead of the auction, it doesn’t mean the end of the relationship between the player and the franchise.

The Final Bid Match rule allows teams that have released their players from the previous season to buy them back during the auction at the price of the final bid from a rival team.

Introduced ahead of Season 6, the Final Bid Match card can only be used twice during the Pro Kabaddi auction, subject to the number of players retained by the said team.

If a team has kept the maximum possible six Elite Retained Players, it is not eligible to use the Final Bid Match card. If the team has retained five players, then it can use the FMB card once.

A team can use both their Final Bid Match cards if they have retained four or less Elite Retained Players.

As things stand, all 12 teams are eligible to use their two Final Bid Match cards during the Pro Kabaddi 2021 player auction.

U Mumba has kept four Elite Retained Players for Season 8, the most by any team, while Tamil Thalaivas and U.P. Yoddha do not have any Elite Retained Players in their midst.

How does Final Bid Match work?

At the end of a round of bidding on a released player, the relevant team will be invited by the auctioneer to match the final bid. The said team has to respond with Yes or No.

If they reply with a Yes, the player will go to the franchise exercising the Final Bid Match option at the final bid price.

If the reply is a No, then the player shall be allocated to the team that has bid the highest amount.

With the Final Bid Match, teams can take strategic decisions in making their squads while maintaining long-term association with players.