Salaries are paid in advance if you play a competitive game during the week.
Which means if you were in auto relegation zone, your last league game was Saturday, and the following Financial update meant you paid no salaries.
After next Saturday, irrespective of whether or not a team is playing the 3rd final, everybody pays salaries as the next competitive game is the following Saturday, the first game of the new season.
To recap... if between your current and next financial update there is a competitive game, you pay salaries.
Oh and Skyhookz, I love me some Atoy.