Final
Houston Rockets at Dallas Mavericks
135 – 117
2026-27 · Preseason · Preseason
Game state source: whynba · Retrieved Oct 9, 5:36 pm EDTHow the NBA salary cap works
The NBA uses a soft cap: teams can spend above it through defined exceptions. For 2026-27, the cap is $164.961 million. The luxury-tax line and the two aprons are separate thresholds, with their own accounting and consequences.
NBA announcement: . Source checked: .
| Threshold | Official amount | Difference from cap |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum team salary | $148,465,000 | − $16,496,000 |
| Salary cap | $164,961,000 | — |
| Luxury-tax threshold | $200,428,000 | + $35,467,000 |
| First apron | $209,015,000 | + $44,054,000 |
| Second apron | $221,686,000 | + $56,725,000 |
Why the NBA has a soft salary cap
The salary cap is the normal limit on a team’s cap-accounting total. A team with room can sign a player into that room, subject to the other contract rules. An over-cap team needs a permitted exception. That is why the NBA system is called a soft cap: crossing the line can be legal, but only through the rules in the collective bargaining agreement. Article VII, Section 2(b), printed page 176.
The salary cap and luxury tax answer different questions
The cap governs how a team can add salary. The luxury tax is a payment owed when the separately calculated Tax Team Salary exceeds the tax threshold. A team can therefore be over the cap without being a taxpayer. Paying a tax bill does not let a team ignore signing or trade restrictions. Tax rates also depend on how far the team is over the line and its recent tax history. Article VII, Section 2(d), printed pages 179–183.
Why cap room is not just the cap minus a roster’s salaries
The CBA’s Team Salary can include amounts beyond the contracts of active players. A waived player’s salary may still count; free agents can leave cap holds until they re-sign, join another NBA team or are renounced. Unsigned first-round picks and incomplete rosters can also carry charges. These rules prevent a simple payroll list from being a complete cap-room calculation. Article VII, Sections 4(a), 4(d), 4(e) and 4(f), printed pages 211–221.
How teams keep players while already over the cap
The existing-contract exception permits commitments that were validly made. Veteran free-agent exceptions can let a team re-sign eligible returning players over the cap, with different limits depending on the player’s qualifying status. A cap hold and an exception serve different purposes: the hold occupies accounting space while a player is unsigned; the exception is the permission to complete a qualifying transaction. Article VII, Sections 4(d) and 6(a)–6(b), printed pages 217 and 231–232.
When a soft cap becomes a hard cap
Certain transactions trigger an apron limit for the rest of the salary-cap year. For example, using the non-taxpayer mid-level exception requires the team to stay within the first apron; using the taxpayer mid-level exception requires it to stay within the second apron. The transaction itself must fit under the applicable line, and later moves cannot push Apron Team Salary past it. Merely being above the normal salary cap does not mean every team has triggered the same hard cap. Article VII, Section 2(e)(2) and table rows B and K, printed pages 187 and 190–191.
Three different mid-level exceptions
The NBA announcement lists separate maximum amounts depending on a team’s salary position. A team does not receive all three exceptions.
Compare MLE amounts, contract lengths, trade uses and eligibility rules in the detailed guide.
- Non-taxpayer mid-level exception: $15.044 million.
- Taxpayer mid-level exception: $6.064 million.
- Room mid-level exception: $9.366 million.
NBA second apron penalties: what changes?
The second apron adds roster-building restrictions, not just a larger tax bill. These are key rules from the 2023 NBA–NBPA collective bargaining agreement; the first-apron restrictions also continue to apply.
First apron vs. second apron: which moves trigger a limit?
For 2026-27, the first apron is $209.015 million and the second is $221.686 million. The table names the ceiling tied to each transaction. A team must fit at or below that ceiling immediately after the move and stay within it for the rest of the cap year. Being below a line does not by itself establish eligibility for a transaction.
| Transaction | Applicable ceiling | What the restriction means |
|---|---|---|
| Use the bi-annual exception | First apron | Signing or acquiring a player through this exception sets a first-apron limit. CBA row A. |
| Use the non-taxpayer mid-level exception | First apron | Signing or acquiring a player through this exception sets a first-apron limit. CBA row B. |
| Receive a player in a sign-and-trade | First apron | The restriction applies to the team acquiring the newly signed contract. It is not a blanket ban on signing and trading away a free agent. CBA row C. |
| Sign a qualifying player waived during the regular season | First apron | This covers a signing during the regular season when the player’s previous contract was terminated during that same regular season and its salary for that cap year was greater than the non-taxpayer mid-level exception. It is not a ban on every minimum-salary signing. CBA row D. |
| Use expanded trade salary matching | First apron | Acquiring a player through the Expanded Traded Player Exception sets a first-apron limit. Above the first apron, the additional $250,000 allowance in the trade exceptions also falls to zero under Section 6(j)(3). CBA row E. |
| Use an older standard trade exception | First apron | This applies after the regular season in which the exception arose. If it arose between regular seasons, the cutoff is the end of the following regular season. The test is not simply whether a new cap year has begun. CBA row F. |
| Combine outgoing salaries through the aggregated standard trade exception | Second apron | A team cannot use that aggregation to acquire a player if its post-trade Apron Team Salary would exceed the second apron. CBA row H. |
| Send cash in a trade | Second apron | Paying cash to another team as part of a trade sets a second-apron limit. This row governs sending cash. CBA row I. |
| Use a trade exception tied to an outgoing sign-and-trade | Second apron | A team acquiring a player through a traded-player exception in respect of a contract it signed and traded must fit under the second apron. This is a separate rule from receiving the signed-and-traded player in row C. CBA row J. |
| Use the taxpayer mid-level exception | Second apron | Signing a player through this exception sets a second-apron limit. It does not permit the team to exceed that line later in the cap year. CBA row K. |
Timing matters: between the end of the regular season and the end of that cap year, transactions in rows E–J can also impose a ceiling for the following cap year, with special calculation assumptions. Using the taxpayer mid-level exception also rules out transactions A–F later in that cap year under the post-2023–24 rules. See Article VII, Sections 2(e)(2)–(3).
The CBA’s row G covered the Transition Traded Player Exception, which existed only in 2023–24; it is not a current option. Trade-matching definitions and the first-apron $250,000 adjustment appear in Section 6(j), printed pages 241–242. Other contract, trade and exception rules still apply.
Future draft-pick restrictions
- Freezing a future first-round pick
- A team above the second apron at the start of its last regular-season game cannot trade its first-round pick seven seasons out. Finishing above the second apron in at least two of the following four salary-cap years also moves that pick to the end of the first round. If multiple teams receive the penalty in the same draft, their order is resolved by the CBA. Article VII, Section 2(f), printed pages 195–197.
The CBA uses a defined apron team salary, which can differ from a simple sum of player salaries. Certain transactions also trigger a hard cap for the remainder of the cap year. The restrictions above are a selected summary, not a calculation of any team’s eligibility.
Use payroll totals carefully
Our team salary tables show reported contracts. They do not include every cap hold, dead-money charge or accounting adjustment, so subtracting those totals from the cap would not give a reliable cap-room figure.
Quick answers
- What is the NBA salary cap for 2026-27?
- The NBA set the 2026-27 salary cap at $164.961 million per team. The minimum team salary is $148.465 million.
- What are the first and second aprons for 2026-27?
- The first apron is $209.015 million and the second apron is $221.686 million. Both are above the $200.428 million luxury-tax threshold.
- How much higher is the second apron than the salary cap?
- In 2026-27, the second apron is $56.725 million above the salary cap and $12.671 million above the first apron. These are differences between league thresholds, not a team spending allowance.
- What are the NBA mid-level exceptions for 2026-27?
- The official announcement lists $15.044 million for the non-taxpayer mid-level, $6.064 million for the taxpayer mid-level and $9.366 million for a team with room under the cap. Eligibility depends on the collective bargaining agreement.
- Can listed player salaries show how much cap room a team has?
- A sum of listed player salaries is not a complete cap calculation. Cap holds, dead money and other accounting adjustments can change a team’s position. WHYNBA’s salary tables list the reported contracts; they do not certify cap room or apron compliance.
- What are the NBA second apron penalties?
- Key restrictions include losing access to the taxpayer mid-level exception, being unable to combine outgoing salaries through the aggregated standard traded-player exception, and being unable to send cash in trades while above the second apron. A team above the line at the start of its last regular-season game also has a future first-round pick frozen; repeated years above the line can move that pick to the end of the round. These rules come from Article VII of the 2023 NBA–NBPA collective bargaining agreement.
- How does the NBA salary cap work?
- The NBA uses a soft cap. Teams with cap room can use that room to sign players, subject to the contract rules; teams over the cap need a permitted exception. The luxury-tax threshold and the two aprons are separate lines with different consequences.
- Is the NBA salary cap the same as the luxury-tax threshold?
- No. The salary cap governs the ability to add salary, while the tax threshold determines whether the separately calculated Tax Team Salary produces a tax bill. Paying tax does not remove the cap or apron transaction rules.
- Does waiving a player automatically create NBA cap space?
- No. A waived player’s salary can remain in Team Salary under the CBA. Whether a move creates usable room depends on the contract and the full cap accounting, not just whether the player remains on the roster.
- What is the difference between the first and second NBA aprons?
- The first apron restricts moves such as receiving a sign-and-traded player and using the non-taxpayer mid-level exception. The second apron adds restrictions such as aggregating outgoing salaries through the aggregated standard trade exception, sending cash in trades and using the taxpayer mid-level exception. First-apron restrictions still apply to a team above the second apron.
- Can an NBA team above the first apron sign any player who was waived?
- Not every waived player is eligible. During the regular season, the first-apron restriction covers a player whose previous contract was terminated in that same regular season and whose salary under it was greater than that cap year’s non-taxpayer mid-level exception. It is not a blanket ban on all minimum-salary signings.
- Does receiving a sign-and-traded player hard-cap an NBA team?
- Yes. Receiving the newly signed contract is a first-apron transaction. The acquiring team must fit under that line immediately afterward and stay within it for the rest of the cap year. Using a trade exception tied to an outgoing sign-and-trade is a separate second-apron restriction.
- Can a team above the NBA second apron still make a trade?
- Being above the second apron does not prohibit every trade. A transaction must satisfy the applicable salary-matching and other trade rules without using prohibited aggregation, sending cash or another restricted mechanism. The comparison table identifies the mechanisms; it does not certify a particular team or trade.
Contract rules: two-way salary, Active List limits and postseason conversion.
Re-signing players: Bird, Early Bird and Non-Bird rights, trades and cap holds.
Acquiring contracts: Trade exceptions, the one-year deadline and apron restrictions.
Player departures: buyout rules, waivers and first-apron signing limits.
Waived contracts: stretch provision, cap allocation and player-payment rules.
Injury replacement rules: Disabled Player Exception limits, deadlines and calculator.
Short-term signings: 10-day contract salary, duration and hardship timing.
For restricted free agency, see qualifying offers, deadlines and offer-sheet matching.
NBPA agreement link and reviewed document last checked: .
Sources: NBA sets salary cap for 2026-27 season at $164.961 million and the 2023 NBA–NBPA CBA, Article VII, Sections 2, 4, 6 and 8 (source reviewed September 30, 2026). Explanations are WHYNBA summaries of the cited provisions. Dollar amounts are extracted from the official release; differences are calculated from those amounts. This page describes 2026-27 and does not project a future season.