NBA buyout rules: waivers, March 1 and the first apron

From agreement to a new contract

1. The player and team agree to an amendment. Article II §3(p) permits an agreement to reduce or eliminate compensation protection, modify or eliminate set-off rights, or both, if the player clears waivers and the contract terminates. Following the Commissioner’s approval of the amendment, the team immediately requests waivers. Article II §3(p), printed page 20.
2. Other teams have a waiver-claim window. The cited rule allows claims within 48 hours after the league distributes the notice. Weekends and legal holidays count. A team cannot withdraw its waiver request or its claim. Uniform Player Contract annex, NBA waiver rules §§5.03–5.04, printed page A-26.
3. A claim and a new signing have different consequences. If a team successfully claims the player, the existing contract is assigned to it. If nobody claims the contract before the window expires, it terminates. The player can then pursue a new contract, subject to the applicable signing, roster and salary-cap rules. Uniform Player Contract ¶16(f), printed page A-20.

When multiple teams claim a player, the cited rules prioritize the lower team standing. From the end of the season through November 30, the previous season’s closing standings govern. Further tie procedures apply; a waiver claim is not a first-come auction or the player’s choice of destination. Waiver rules §5.05, printed pages A-26–A-27.

What the March 1 deadline actually measures

The postseason rule applies when a request for waivers is made after 11:59 p.m. Eastern time on March 1. A player waived after that cutoff generally cannot play in that season’s postseason. In this part of the agreement, postseason includes both the Play-In and the playoffs. The rule applies to Two-Way players too. Article XXIX §4, printed page 431; §2(e), printed page 430.

This is a waiver-request deadline, not a universal deadline to sign the next contract or to clear waivers. Other signing and roster requirements still matter. There is a narrow stated exception for a player acquired by a team whose Active List has fallen to eight players because of injury or illness.

Which signings trigger the first-apron restriction?

Row D of the CBA’s Transaction Restrictions Table covers a team signing a player during the regular season when both of these conditions are true:

• The player’s previous contract was terminated during that same regular season.
• Before termination, that contract provided a salary for the relevant salary-cap year greater than that year’s non-taxpayer mid-level exception.

The applicable limit is the first apron. Immediately after the signing, the team’s Apron Team Salary cannot exceed that level, and the team cannot exceed it for the remainder of the salary-cap year. Being below the apron before signing is not enough. These tests use the CBA’s defined salary measures, not a simple sum of displayed roster salaries. Article VII §2(e)(4), row D, printed page 190; §2(e)(2)(i), printed page 187.

The comparison is with the prior contract’s season salary, not the small replacement salary a player might accept. The rule says greater than the non-taxpayer mid-level exception; equality does not meet that particular condition. It is not a blanket ban on every waived player, nor is a negotiated buyout required for row D to apply. A team that already used the taxpayer mid-level exception that salary-cap year faces an additional restriction on these transactions. Article VII §2(e)(2)(iii), printed pages 188–189.

For current published league thresholds and the distinction between the cap and aprons, see our salary-cap guide. This explanation does not classify any current team or player as eligible for a signing.

What happens to the money and the cap charge?

A buyout does not automatically wipe out the original team’s cap charge. The negotiated reduction in protected compensation is allocated proportionally over the current and remaining salary-cap years according to the remaining unearned protected base compensation in each year. That allocation applies notwithstanding a stretch of the protected-payment schedule. Article VII §7(d)(5), printed page 257.

For example, if a hypothetical contract has $2 million and $4 million of remaining unearned protected base compensation in two respective years, a $600,000 negotiated reduction would allocate $200,000 to the first and $400,000 to the second under that rule. Those figures illustrate the reduction only; they are not a complete calculation of a real player’s cap charge.

A team’s election to stretch post-termination salary over additional cap years is a separate step with separate timing and limits. Read the stretch-provision guide and calculator for the distinction between cap allocation and payment scheduling.

Can the original team immediately bring the player back?

For an amendment under Article II §3(p), the original team cannot sign the player to a new contract or claim him off waivers before the later of one year after termination or July 1 following the last season of the original contract. This is the specific buyout-amendment rule, not a universal one-year rule for every waived player. Article VII §7(d)(5), printed page 257.

Continue with Two-Way conversion and postseason rules or sourced transaction reports.

WHYNBA editorial explanation, reviewed October 1, 2026 against the collected 2023 NBA–NBPA Collective Bargaining Agreement. Examples are hypothetical. PDF links account for front matter; citations also identify the printed pages.

NBPA agreement link and reviewed document last checked: October 7, 2026, 23:49 UTC.