News ·
BuzzerBeater salary formula change (Season 73): what actually moved
By Ubiond · All news
Around 4-5 August 2026 (Season 72→73 rollover), BuzzerBeater shipped a new player salary formula. As announced on Discord (BB-Marin and others), the pitch was: a simpler formula, close loopholes (cheap high ID on the perimeter), keep overall salary mass in a similar range, and tweak soft cap / DMI in the same pass. A first post-rollover version went live, then BB corrected the formula again. The numbers below are for that corrected formula vs pre-S73.
This is a manager-facing summary of what seems to have moved. The % figures below are estimates from our BuzzerIQ models, fitted on large live player samples (pre vs post behaviour). Not official BB coefficients. Use them as a compass, then check your roster in the Salary & Cap Estimator.
TL;DR
- Guards / SF (perimeter): IS is clearly more expensive than before. ID still costs on shorts (was almost free). Both still weigh less than PA / JS / OD.
- JR and PA cheaper, especially PA on pure point guards and JR on shooting guards.
- Bigs: classic IS/ID/RB with low SB slightly cheaper. SB (block) weighs more.
- Overall, estimated salaries are a touch lower (roughly ~−1.5% median vs the old formula).
Skill weights by position
Here we show the approximate change in how much each skill weighs on that role's salary (corrected formula vs pre-S73). On PG/SG, ID and IS used to sit near zero (almost free). A raw "+%" from that baseline would look absurd, so we write ~0 → costs: they now have a real weight. On the wing, the big novelty is IS; SF ID weight is almost flat. In absolute terms ID/IS still weigh less than PA / JS / OD, so +1 training barely moves salary; stacked high ID or IS (see builds below) is what gets expensive.
| Position | Skill | ~Δ role weight | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| PG | PA | ~−7% | Pure point guard cheaper |
| PG | JR | ~−7% | A bit cheaper |
| PG | ID | ~0 → costs | Was almost free; high-ID shorts dearer |
| PG | IS | ~0 → costs | Stronger than ID on PG; still below PA / OD |
| SG | JR | ~−13% | JR-heavy SG cheaper |
| SG | ID | ~0 → costs | Same loophole closed as PG |
| SG | IS | ~0 → costs | Clear IS tax on guards; still light vs OD / JS |
| SF | IS | ~0 → costs | Main new tax on the wing |
| SF | ID | ~−3% | Almost flat vs old SF ID weight |
| SF | JR | ~−9% | Cheaper |
| PF | IS / ID / RB | ~−3% to −4% | Classic interiors a bit cheaper |
| PF | SB (BL) | ~+38% | Block weighs more |
| C | IS / ID / RB | ~−4% to −7% | ID down a bit more |
| C | SB (BL) | ~+34% | Block weighs more |
Approximate salary shifts by build
Total player salary by position (max over roles). Order of magnitude, not a promise for every player:
| Build | ~Δ salary | Read |
|---|---|---|
| Guard with high ID (ID ≥ 13) | ~+11% | Loophole closed |
| SF with high ID (ID ≥ 13) | ~+12% | Still dearer (IS + mix, not raw SF ID weight) |
| Guard with high IS (IS ≥ 14) | ~+13% | IS tax on perimeter stronger |
| Pure PG (high PA, low ID/IS) | ~−14% | PA / classic PG cheaper |
| JR-heavy guard | ~−4% | Mild |
| Traditional big (high IS/ID/RB, low SB) | ~−4% | Slightly cheaper |
| SB-heavy big (block ≥ 12) | ~+10% | Block matters more |
Training +1 ID/IS on a normal short still looks like a light secondary. The big jump is mainly stacked high ID or high IS (especially IS after the correction), not from one ordinary training season.
Soft cap / potential
Soft cap was adjusted with the salary change. Directionally you see the same themes in "how full" a player looks: perimeter ID/IS count a bit more; block a bit more for bigs; pure PA / JR a hair less. Official weights are not published.
We do not get a "this player is capped" flag from BBAPI, only skills + potential. To improve estimates, we need community help:
Call to action
If you have trainees you know are soft-capped (training clearly at 1/3), share them on the BuzzerIQ Discord for study. A short list of known capped players beats guessing from one snapshot.
DMI & form decimals
In BuzzerIQ we use DMI to estimate game shape decimals (the hidden part of form between whole GS levels). Marin also confirmed DMI moved (tied to a changed hidden attribute), with an intent to keep levels similar. We are following the evolution over the next weeks via roster snapshots (season-open GS≈7, later GS=9). More concrete numbers once the sample has matured. No formula swap on day one.
Personal note (meta)
On bigs, I am fairly happy with the direction. If salary and cap both nudge toward more all-around interiors, and make pure "block-first, zero offense" less free, that helps break an old distortion: two stoppers parked as PGs because PA was nearly free on bigs, and IS-stuffed shorts parked as bigs. The vector is right. Fine-tuning will still come.
Same for cooling the eternal 3-2 / SB-heavy dominance: I like the intent. But salaries alone are not enough. You can still build expensive, SB-dominant rosters that win on the court. Rebalancing that meta almost certainly needs a hand on the match engine, not only the wage bill.
On shorts, the corrected formula makes more sense of the IS side: the IS tax on the perimeter is clearly stronger than in the first (wrong) patch, while ID still costs on guards but SF ID weight is almost flat. We will understand more in the coming days as a community, also after developer statements.
Try it on your roster
Updated estimates are live in BuzzerIQ tools (salary estimator, training projections, roster). Feedback welcome on Discord.