NBA Exhibit 10 contracts: salary, bonuses and three possible paths

One starting contract, three different outcomes

A signing announcement does not establish which path the player will take. Start with the contract's actual terms, then distinguish the team's decision from the player's later service.

1. The NBA team keeps the contract

   If the team does not terminate it before the first day of the NBA regular season, the specified Conversion Protection Amount applies for lack of skill and injury or illness. Keeping the contract is not a promise that the entire season's salary has become guaranteed.

2. The team converts it to a two-way deal

   The option must be exercised before the first day of the NBA regular season. Two-way eligibility rules apply. The Exhibit 10 bonus right is rescinded, and the player instead receives the applicable two-way salary with the specified conversion protection.

3. The team waives the player before the season

   If the contract includes an Exhibit 10 bonus, the player may earn it by satisfying the G League signing, affiliate and service conditions. Being waived does not itself earn the bonus.

These branches come from Article II §3(s), printed pages 21–23, §11(h), pages 56–58 and the actual Exhibit 10 form, A-44–46.

The NBA salary, affiliate bonus and protection are different amounts

NBA contract salary

The contract must provide the applicable Minimum Player Salary for one season. There is no single salary for every player's service history. A headline bonus amount is not the contract's annual NBA salary or proof that the full salary will be paid.

Exhibit 10 bonus

If included, this is a conditional amount from $5,000 up to the CBA maximum. A contract can specify less than the maximum. The team must have a G League affiliate at execution to include the bonus, with a separate acquired-contract rule described below.

Conversion Protection Amount

This protects compensation in the specified retention or conversion circumstances. If the exhibit includes a bonus, it must also include a Conversion Protection Amount equal to that bonus. The two are different contractual mechanisms, even when their numbers match.

The contract cannot include other bonuses or ordinary compensation protection outside the permitted Exhibit 10 protection provisions. A team may have no more than six contracts containing Exhibit 10 at one time. The agreement also prohibits an extension, renegotiation, option year or early termination option for a contract containing Exhibit 10. Article II §3(s), printed page 23; §2(b), page 15.

What the 60-day condition actually requires

For the ordinary waiver-and-affiliate bonus path, Article II §3(s)(i) requires all of the following:

1. The NBA team terminates the contract through the waiver procedure before the first day of the NBA regular season.
2. The player signs with the G League before its deadline for teams to designate affiliate players.
3. The G League initially assigns him to the NBA team's affiliate identified in the exhibit, and he reports on time.
4. He does not leave the G League before completing 60 consecutive days of service during the G League season, subject to the agreement's specified exceptions.

This is not simply 60 days after the NBA waiver date, and it is not a 60-game requirement. The current G League designation deadline and the actual service history must be established separately. The contract form makes the qualifying bonus payable within 30 days after the conditions are satisfied. Article II §3(s)(i), printed page 21; Exhibit 10, A-44.

Same-team call-ups and other professional contracts are treated differently

If the same NBA team signs the player to one or more contracts before he completes the period, he can still satisfy the service condition by returning to that team's affiliate on time after those contracts end and completing the outstanding portion. But signing a contract with a different professional basketball team before completing the period fails that condition. Do not assume that any NBA call-up preserves the bonus. Article II §3(s)(i).

There is also a specified injury exception. The Exhibit 10 form preserves the bonus when the G League contract ends because an injury directly resulting from play for the team's affiliate prevents completion of the service condition. That is narrower than “any injury guarantees the bonus.” Exhibit 10, A-44.

Two-way conversion changes both pay and protection

Every contract with Exhibit 10 includes the team's two-way conversion option. Exercising it before the NBA regular season replaces the standard-contract salary exhibit with the applicable Two-Way Player Salary, rescinds the Exhibit 10 bonus right and applies the Conversion Protection Amount. The contract then follows the two-way rules, including its later standard-contract conversion option. Article II §11(h), printed pages 56–58.

The option is not unlimited: two-way eligibility conditions still apply. Those include service-history and repeat-contract limits, with a specific exception for certain credited seasons without a played game. Read the two-way contract guide for the full distinction between eligibility, NBA Active List limits and conversion to a standard contract. Article II §11(e), printed page 54.

Exhibit 9 is a separate attachment

An eligible contract can contain both Exhibit 9 and Exhibit 10. Exhibit 9 addresses the specified non-guaranteed training-camp arrangement; Exhibit 10 addresses the affiliate bonus and conversion provisions. If the team exercises the two-way conversion option, Exhibit 9 becomes ineffective. Do not use the two exhibit numbers interchangeably. Article II §3(s), printed page 23; Exhibit 9 form, A-43.

Three hypothetical situations

Affiliate rights can affect the route

The CBA separately addresses an acquired Exhibit 10 contract with conversion protection but no bonus: acquisition by a team with a G League affiliate makes the exhibit include a bonus equal to that protection. It also identifies a payment-responsibility branch when another qualifying prior NBA team designates the player as an affiliate, and requires notice where another affiliate holds returning-player rights. These provisions depend on G League rules and actual contract history; the last NBA roster alone cannot identify the correct affiliate or payer. Article II §3(s), printed pages 22–23.

For the separate short-term agreement, see how NBA 10-day contracts work. The salary-cap guide explains the official season amounts used in the calculation above.