NBA:Salary Cap: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 15:21, 8 October 2026

Reference	Contracts · Rosters · Salary Cap · League Spreadsheet
Transactions	Waivers · Trades · Options · Re-Signing · Draft · Free Agency · G League · Injured Reserve
Timeline	Off-Season · In-Season
Governance	League Structure · GM Responsibilities · Rule Changes
Tools	Re-Sign Calculator · Free Agency Bid Calculator

The salary cap is the maximum amount each team can spend each season on player salaries and cap hits combined.

The cap

$60,000,000. The same for every team, binding at all times — unlike roster size, it applies through the off-season too.

What counts against it

Every player you are paying counts his full salary, wherever he sits — active, G League, or Injured Reserve.

Drafted players count from the moment they are selected.

Waived players are the only case where a contract counts for less than its full value.

Calculating your cap space

Cap Space = Salary Cap − Total Salary − Cap Hits

Total Salary is your players only — active, G League, and IR. It does not include cap hits, which are counted separately.

From the example roster:

  $58,467,800   15 player salaries
+  $1,400,000   4 cap hits
+    $132,200   cap space
= $60,000,000   salary cap

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{1TC NBA rules}}
-Every team spends against the same ceiling, at every point in the year. This page covers what counts against it, and what you still owe for players who have left.
+The salary cap is the maximum amount each team can spend each season on player salaries and cap hits combined.
 == The cap ==
-'''$60,000,000.''' The same for every team, binding '''at all times''' including the off-season. There is no window in which you may exceed it.
+'''$60,000,000.''' The same for every team, binding '''at all times''' — unlike [[NBA:Rosters#When the limits bind|roster size]], it applies through the off-season too.
-This is the one constraint with no seasonal relief: [[NBA:Rosters#When the limits bind|roster size]] stops applying between opening days, the cap never does.
 == What counts against it ==
@@ Line 13: / Line 11: @@
 Every player you are paying counts his '''full salary''', wherever he sits — active, [[NBA:G League|G League]], or [[NBA:Injured Reserve|Injured Reserve]].
-Assigning a player to the G League or moving him to IR frees an [[NBA:Rosters#Roster size|active roster spot]], never cap space.
+'''[[NBA:Draft#Rookie contracts|Drafted players]] count from the moment they are selected.'''
-Waived players are the only case where a contract counts for less than its full value.
+[[NBA:Waivers#What it costs|Waived players]] are the only case where a contract counts for less than its full value.
 == Calculating your cap space ==
@@ Line 23: / Line 21: @@
 </pre>
-'''Total Salary''' is your players only — active, G League and IR. It does '''not''' include cap hits, which are counted separately.
+'''Total Salary''' is your players only — active, G League, and IR. It does '''not''' include cap hits, which are counted separately.
 From the [[NBA:Rosters#A complete example|example roster]]:
 <pre style="white-space:pre; overflow-x:auto">
-   $57,477,800   13 player salaries
+   $58,467,800   15 player salaries
-+  $2,400,000   4 cap hits
++  $1,400,000   4 cap hits
-+    $122,200   cap space
++    $132,200   cap space
 = $60,000,000   salary cap
 </pre>
-== Cap hits ==
-Money you owe for a player no longer on your roster. Each has a cause, an amount, and an end year — dead money rolls off.
-{| class="wikitable"
-! Cause
-! Amount
-! Duration
-|-
-| [[NBA:Waivers|Waiving a player]]
-| 40% of salary
-| Through the last '''guaranteed''' year
-|-
-| [[NBA:Waivers#Exceptions|Waiving a draft-and-stash player]] before he comes over
-| 40% of salary
-| One year
-|-
-| [[NBA:Free Agency|Bidding over the cap in free agency]]
-| 40% of the contract you offered
-| One year
-|}
-The stashed-player case is separate because a stashed contract has [[NBA:Contracts#Draft-and-stash|no end date]] to calculate against.
-=== Which years ===
-Through your last '''guaranteed''' year — which includes any '''option you have exercised''', since exercising guarantees that season — stopping at the first option you have not decided. [[NBA:Waivers#Which years|Waivers]] has the calculation and worked examples.
-=== How a waiver hit lands ===
-'''The 40% is assumed the moment the waiver is posted''', not when the player clears, so waiving frees 60% of the salary immediately. A player claimed by another team costs you nothing at all.
-The [[NBA:Rosters#Roster size|roster spot frees too]], and it frees in full — check the cap number rather than assuming the money followed the spot.
-== Timing ==
-'''Drafted players count from selection.''' A pick is signed the moment it is posted, so his slot salary lands on your cap immediately. Enter the [[NBA:Draft|draft]] already holding room for every pick you intend to make.
-'''You may not bid more than your cap space.''' An over-cap bid that wins anyway costs you 40% of the contract you offered, for a year, and you do not get the player. See [[NBA:Free Agency#If an over-cap bid wins anyway|Free Agency]].
-'''The off-season changes nothing.''' Options, re-signs, the draft and free agency all happen under the same ceiling.
-== Contract integrity ==
-Contracts are fixed.
-{{Important|Altering a player's salary or years is grounds for immediate removal from the league. If a figure looks wrong, raise it with TAB rather than adjusting it.}}
 == See also ==