View source for NBA:Contracts

{{1TC NBA rules}}

Every player holds a contract: a salary, a set of years, and sometimes a tag. This page is about reading them. For the rules that ''produce'' a contract, see [[NBA:Free Agency|Free Agency]], [[NBA:Re-Signing|Re-Signing]], the [[NBA:Draft|Draft]], or [[NBA:Trades|Trades]].

== Reading a contract ==

<pre>
Jeff Malone (WAS - SG) $4,000,000 (2027)
</pre>

{| class="wikitable"
! Part
! Meaning
|-
| <code>Jeff&nbsp;Malone</code>
| Player
|-
| <code>(WAS - SG)</code>
| Real NBA team, then the positions he is eligible at. The team is '''optional''' — it helps tell apart players who share a name
|-
| <code>$4,000,000</code>
| Annual salary, the same every year of the contract
|-
| <code>(2027)</code>
| Guaranteed through the 2026-2027 season
|}

=== Years ===

A contract year is a single number, but an NBA season straddles two calendar years. '''<code>(2028)</code> means the 2027-2028 season''' — the league numbers seasons by the year they end in, and the player is a free agent that summer.

A contract is always written '''as it was originally signed'''. Years already played are not removed, so a 2nd-round pick keeps all his option years listed even after some have passed. The only exception is a [[#Draft-and-stash|draft-and-stash]] player.

=== Option years ===

An option year carries a trailing <code>x</code> and is a '''team''' option.

<pre>
Xavier McDaniel (SEA - SF/PF) $2,606,200 (2026, 2027x)          one option
Mark Eaton (UTA - C) $495,000 (2025, ~2029x)               several
Mark Eaton (UTA - C) $495,000 (2025, 2026x, 2027x, 2028x, 2029x)
</pre>

The <code>~</code> covers the unbroken run of options from the year after the guaranteed year through the final year shown; writing them out in full is equally clear.

Options are exercised or declined '''one season at a time'''. See [[NBA:Option Years|Option Years]].

=== Re-sign tags ===

Re-signs are limited to '''3 per team''', and the tags make that count checkable from the roster.

{| class="wikitable"
! Tag
! Meaning
! Uses one of your 3?
|-
| <code>[RS]</code>
| Re-signed by '''your''' team
| Yes
|-
| <code>[RSBO]</code>
| '''Re-Sign By Other''' — re-signed by another team, acquired by trade
| No
|}

<pre>
Dennis Johnson (BOS - PG/SG) $10,900,000 (2026) [RS]
Trent Tucker (NYK - SG/SF) $6,600,000 (2027) [RSBO]
</pre>

When a re-signed player is traded the tag becomes <code>[RSBO]</code> on his new team: the trading team's slot reopens immediately and the acquiring team spends none of its own. Count the <code>[RS]</code> tags and you know how many of a team's 3 slots are in use. See [[NBA:Re-Signing|Re-Signing]].

=== Notation is a convention, not a rule ===

The forms above are preferred and used throughout this wiki. Other formats appear on team rosters and are fine — TAB can read them.

What ''is'' required is that the information be there and be current: a re-signed player identifiable as such, a demotion post stating career games played, a roster post that reflects your actual team.

== Contract types ==

{| class="wikitable"
! Acquired by
! Salary set by
! Term
! Written as
|-
| [[NBA:Free Agency|Free agency]]
| Your winning bid
| Up to 4 years
| <code style="white-space:nowrap">Caldwell Jones (HOU - C) $4,000,000 (2029)</code>
|-
| [[NBA:Re-Signing|Re-signing]]
| Formula, not negotiable
| 3, 4 or 5 years
| <code style="white-space:nowrap">Sleepy Floyd (GSW - PG) $10,100,000 (2028) [RS]</code>
|-
| [[NBA:Draft#1st-round contracts|1st-round pick]]
| Draft slot scale
| 4 years + 1 option
| <code style="white-space:nowrap">Xavier McDaniel (SEA - SF/PF) $2,606,200 (2026, 2027x)</code>
|-
| [[NBA:Draft#2nd-round contracts|2nd-round pick]]
| Flat $495,000
| 1 guaranteed year + 4 options
| <code style="white-space:nowrap">Mark Eaton (UTA - C) $495,000 (2025, ~2029x)</code>
|-
| [[#Draft-and-stash|Draft-and-stash]]
| Draft slot scale
| Undetermined until he arrives
| <code style="white-space:nowrap">Juan Nunez $495,000 (----)</code>
|-
| [[NBA:Trades|Trade]]
| Inherited unchanged
| Inherited unchanged
| Salary and years carry over; <code>[RS]</code> becomes <code>[RSBO]</code>
|}

Players '''35+''' are limited to 2 years in [[NBA:Free Agency|free agency]]. The limit does not apply to [[NBA:Re-Signing|re-signs]].

=== Draft-and-stash ===

A drafted player who does not come to the NBA immediately is paid his draft-slot salary straight away, but his contract has '''no end date''' until he arrives:

<pre>
Juan Nunez $495,000 (----)
</pre>

When he comes over the dashes are replaced with real years — '''the only time a contract's written years change after signing'''. Which years he gets, and how a stashed player is released, are on [[NBA:Draft#Draft-and-stash|Draft]] and [[NBA:Waivers|Waivers]].

== Contracts and the cap ==

'''Every contract counts its full salary against the [[NBA:Salary Cap|$60,000,000 cap]]''', wherever the player sits. [[NBA:Waivers|Waived]] players are the one exception.

== See also ==

* [[NBA:Rosters|Rosters]] — roster sizes, position slots, and how to post a roster
* [[NBA:Salary Cap|Salary Cap]] — the cap and everything that counts against it
* [[NBA:Option Years|Option Years]] — exercising and declining options
* [[NBA:Re-Signing|Re-Signing]] — the 3 tags and the salary formula
* [[NBA:Draft|Draft]] — order, lottery, rookie salary scale, and draft-and-stash

[[Category:1TC NBA rules]]