Player egos and club loyalty will be put to the test after an overseas player draft was announced for the upcoming Big Bash League season.
Players will be able to nominate their salary scale - gold, silver or bronze - and will then sit back and see which clubs pick them.
The BBL will elevate the players with the biggest pulling power into a platinum category, with part of that wage to fall outside of the salary cap.
Platinum players are reportedly set to earn about $340,000, with gold ($260,000), silver ($175,000) and bronze ($100,000) also set for handy pay days.
The draft, to be held in the coming months, will feature four rounds starting with the platinum round and finishing with the silver/bronze round.
A club can pass on a round, but they must pick at least two players and a maximum of three during the draft.
Some clubs had previously expressed concerns about losing their tried-and-tested international players from previous seasons.
As a compromise, each club has been given one retention pick that will allow them to keep an overseas player who featured for them last season.
The club can use the retention pick in any round of the draft, meaning the Adelaide Strikers could retain Rashid Khan no matter who else bid for his services.
Players from around the world are now able to nominate for the draft via an online nomination portal.
They must include their availability and nominate their desired income bracket during this process.
The inaugural edition of the UAE T20 League is set to clash with the BBL.
It means some international starts might only nominate for the early part of the BBL, before jumping ship to the UAE competition.
The BBL draft order will be decided via a weighted lottery.
The three teams who missed the finals last season - Melbourne Renegades, Melbourne Stars and Brisbane Heat - will be entered into the first weighted lottery to determine picks one, two and three.
The Renegades will have the biggest chance of snaring pick No.1 given they finished last.
The five teams who made the finals will be placed into a separate lottery to determine picks four through to eight.
"The BBL has a long history of bringing the biggest names to Australia and we expect it to be an even more attractive proposition with the introduction of the draft," BBL Player Acquisition manager Trent Woodhill said.
"The draft will create a new layer of strategic decision making for players and clubs alike, as well as new levels of anticipation for the upcoming season.
"Feedback from players and agents around the world to the draft concept has been very positive."
DRAFT
Round 1: Platinum only
Round 2: Platinum or Gold
Round 3: Gold or Silver
Round 4: Silver or Bronze
