The CBA Glossary

Ten-day contracts always pay the minimum salary. Whereas in the 2017 CBA, the rule was that ten-day contracts could not pay less than the minimum salary, in this new one, "not pay less than" has been replaced in the 2023 CBA by "must pay". In practice, this changes nothing, as all ten-dayers were always for the minimum salary, but this does now prevent the hypothetical situation in which a player signs a 10-day maximum salary contract. ("You are invaluable to our franchise but only for a week and a bit" would be quite the mixed message.)

When determining whether a contract satisfies the minimum salary requirement, the league generally looks only at salary and not bonuses. However, if a team pays an international player's former overseas club an amount that exceeds the annual excluded international payment limit, the excess is treated as a deemed signing bonus and counts toward the player's salary for minimum-salary purposes. The contract must still clearly show that the player's salary, including any such deemed bonus allocation, meets or exceeds the required minimum salary in every season. ⓘArticle II (Uniform Player Contract) Section 6 (Minimum Player Salary):

(c) In determining whether a Player Contract provides for a Salary of no less than the Minimum Player Salary applicable to that player, the allocation of a deemed signing bonus in respect of an “international player payment” in excess of the Excluded International Player Payment Amount for such Salary Cap Year as set forth in Article VII, Section 3(e) (but no other bonuses) shall be considered as part of the Salary provided for by a Player Contract, provided that such Player Contract makes clear that the Salary for each Season (including the allocation of any such deemed signing bonus) equals or exceeds the Minimum Player Salary for such Season.Sure. Let's use simplified numbers.
Assume the minimum salary for the player is $1.3 million.
The player is under contract with a Spanish club. Under the CBA, assume the NBA team can pay up to $900,000 to buy out the player without it affecting the player's salary. That $900,000 is the "Excluded International Player Payment Amount."
The NBA team agrees to pay the Spanish club $1.2 million to secure the player's release.
The first $900,000 is ignored for salary purposes. The remaining $300,000 ($1.2m minus $900k) is treated as a deemed signing bonus and is allocated to the player's NBA contract.
Now suppose the contract itself pays:
Base salary: $1.05 million
Deemed signing bonus: $300,000
For minimum-salary purposes, the league treats the player as receiving $1.35 million in total compensation.
$1.05m + $300k = $1.35m, which exceeds the required minimum salary of $1.3m, so the contract complies with Section 6.
Without this rule, the contract would fail because the actual salary written into the contract ($1.05m) is below the minimum.
The key point is that the CBA is preventing teams from circumventing the minimum salary by shifting compensation from the player to his overseas club. If a team pays an unusually large buyout, the excess amount is effectively attributed to the player when determining whether the minimum salary rules have been satisfied.
For a multi-year example, assume a two-year minimum contract:
Year 1 minimum salary: $1.3m
Year 2 minimum salary: $1.4m
Excess international payment treated as a deemed signing bonus: $300k
The CBA requires that the contract specify how that $300k is allocated across the seasons. For example:
Year 1 salary: $1.1m + $200k allocated bonus = $1.3m
Year 2 salary: $1.2m + $100k allocated bonus = $1.3m
This would not be legal because Year 2 still falls below its $1.4m minimum.
Instead, the allocation would have to produce at least the minimum in each season, such as:
Year 1 salary: $1.1m + $200k = $1.3m
Year 2 salary: $1.2m + $200k = $1.4m
In other words, the deemed signing bonus can help a contract reach the minimum salary threshold, but the contract must show that each individual season, after the allocated portion of the deemed bonus is included, meets or exceeds the applicable minimum salary for that season.

Any contract that is intended to pay exactly the minimum salary, with no bonuses of any kind, must contain specific language stating that the contract is intended to provide base compensation equal to the minimum player salary for each covered season and will automatically be amended if necessary to ensure that result. The reference to "no bonuses of any kind", however, does not prevent a player and team from including trade bonuses payable if the player is traded, nor does it prevent the use of an Exhibit 10 bonus where otherwise permitted under the CBA.

The section also permits certain minimum-salary players to receive an advance payment before the season begins. A standard NBA contract, other than a Two-Way Contract, that pays no more than the player's applicable minimum salary and contains no bonuses may be amended to provide an advance if some or all of the player's salary is already guaranteed against release for lack of skill or for injury or illness. The advance must be paid before November 1 of the season.

The maximum advance is the lesser of 80% of the player's protected compensation for that season or 7.5% of the player's base compensation for that season. Any advance must then be fully recovered from the player's regular salary payments. It is first deducted from the November 1 salary installment and, if that installment is insufficient, the remainder is deducted from the November 15 installment. To implement this arrangement, the contract must include prescribed language specifying the amount advanced, the date it was paid, and the reduction that will be applied to the November salary payments. The CBA requires teams to use only the exact wording provided for this purpose.

Maximum team salary

Suppose your team has plenty of salary cap exceptions, and is able to go beyond the limit of the salary cap (the theoretical limit on salary expenditure). What, using exceptions, is the absolute maximum amount of money an NBA team can spend on its payroll?

Unlike many NBA CBA questions, the answer to this question of what the absolute maximum is is simple. there isn't one.

As described at length elsewhere, there are plenty of tools designed to level team payroll across the NBA. The luxury tax has been the main vehicle for such for a generation, and the aprons are now making it harder and harder to pile on payroll. After a certain point, the punitive measures become not worth it. There are definitely therefore functional maximum payrolls for each team, and of course the theoretical one that is the salary cap itself.

There isn't, however, an absolute maximum. If you can find ways to add the requisite payroll, and are willing to cut the check, you can spend as much as your ownership group lets you.

Minimum team salary

a Minimum Team Salary equal to ninety percent (90%) of the Salary Cap for such Salary Cap Year;

The NBA shall cause such Team to make a payment to the NBA equal to the difference between the Team’s MTS Payment Team Salary and the Minimum Team Salary; and (ii) Subject to Section 2(c)(7) below, and notwithstanding anything to the contrary in Section 2(d) below, such Team shall be prohibited from receiving a share of any tax amount that the NBA elects to distribute to non-taxpaying Teams in 178 Article VII respect of such Salary Cap Year pursuant to Section 2(d)(4)(i) below.

lack of rebate was staggered:

for the 2023-24 Salary Cap Year only, if (i) a Team’s MTS Payment Team Salary for the 2023-24 Salary Cap Year is less than the Minimum Team Salary for such Salary Cap Year, and (ii) such Team does not owe a Tax for such Salary Cap Year, then such Team shall be entitled to receive a fifty percent (50%) share of any tax amount that the NBA elects to distribute to non-taxpaying Teams in respect of such Salary Cap Year pursuant to Section 2(d)(4)(i) below. For example, if there were twenty-four (24) non-taxpaying Teams for the 2023-24 Salary Cap Year and one (1) of such Teams had a MTS Payment Team Salary for such Salary Cap Year less than the Minimum Team Salary, then such Team, rather than receiving one-twenty-fourth (1/24th) of the total amount that the NBA elects to distribute to non-taxpaying Teams pursuant to Section 2(d)(4)(i) below, would instead receive a Tax distribution amount equal to the total amount to be distributed to non-taxpaying Teams multiplied by a fraction, the numerator of which is one-half (0.5) and the denominator of which is twenty-three and one-half (0.5/23.5). Each of the other twenty-three (23) non-taxpaying Teams for the 2023-24 Salary Cap Year would receive a Tax distribution amount equal to the total amount to be distributed to non-taxpaying Teams multiplied by a fraction, the numerator of which is one (1) and the denominator of which is twenty-three and one-half (1/23.5).

The 'punishment' for missing the minimum salary threshold is merely that you get charged up to the amount of it anyway. That's it. The excess is divided up amongst the players on the roster at a percentage determined by the NBA Player's Association, and that's all that happens.

What happens if teams fail to meet the minimum team salary? In the 2017 CBA, the NBA forces the team to make a payment "to the players". But in 2023, they are to make a payment "to the NBA". Additionally, said payment is now to be distributed among all players in the league, not just those on the roster of the team making the payment. Offending teams will also have a reduced share of luxury tax reimbursements.

Maximum contract length

As with so many things, the answer to what the longest an NBA player's contract can be is the unhelpful but completely honest, "it depends". It is dealt with by Article IX.

The broad answer, as per Article IX, is that NBA contracts are a maximum of four seasons in length. As with many CBA rules, though, exceptions exist. Specifically, the exceptions are: ⓘArticle IX (Length Of Player Contracts) Section 1 (Maximum Term):

Except where a shorter term is expressly provided for elsewhere in this Agreement, a Player Contract entered into after the effective date of this Agreement may cover, in the aggregate, up to but no more than four (4) Seasons from the date such Contract is signed; [...]

a) Players re-signed via full Bird rights can sign for up to five years in length. ⓘArticle IX (Length Of Player Contracts) Section 1 (Maximum Term):

[...] provided, however, that (a) a Player Contract between a Qualifying Veteran Free Agent and his Prior Team may cover, in the aggregate, up to but no more than five (5) Seasons from the date such Contract is signed, [...]

b) Rookie scale contract extensions can be for up to six years. ⓘArticle IX (Length Of Player Contracts) Section 1 (Maximum Term):

[...] (b) an Extension of a Rookie Scale Contract may cover, in the aggregate, up to but no more than six (6) Seasons from the date such Extension is signed [...]

c) Veteran extensions can be for up to five years, as long as they are not Designated Veteran extensions. ⓘArticle IX (Length Of Player Contracts) Section 1 (Maximum Term):

[...] (c) a Veteran Extension signed pursuant to Article VII, Section 7(a) (other than a Designated Veteran Player Extension) may cover, in the aggregate, up to but no more than five (5) Seasons from the date such Extension is signed [...]

d) Designated Veteran extensions must be for six seasons. ⓘArticle IX (Length Of Player Contracts) Section 1 (Maximum Term):

[...] (d) a Designated Veteran Player Extension with a Team's Designated Veteran Player must cover six (6) Seasons from the date such Extension is signed. [...]

In all cases, option years are counted towards the total. So if a maximum contract length is four seasons, this does not mean four including an option for a fifth - the option year must counted in the four. ⓘArticle IX (Length Of Player Contracts) Section 1 (Maximum Term):

[...] For the avoidance of doubt and consistent with Article VII, Section 9(a)(2), the maximum Contract and Extension lengths described herein are inclusive of any Option Year contained in a Contract or Extension.

Remember that the difference between "season" and "year", outlined in the Salary Basics page, is revelant here, as is the season changeover date. If a player signs what we all invariably call a four-year contract on, say, 18th August 2029, it does not mean they are under contract until 18th August 2033. "Seasons" are distinct from "years", and so what everyone calls a four-year contract (because it is easier and far more normal to say on a day-to-day level) is in fact a four-season contract. And barring exceptional circumstances, seasons end on 30th June each year, so that contract would end at close of business on 30th June 2033. Even though the contract was signed halfway through the season, that season is treated as a full season for counting purposes.

If a player signs an extension during the offseason - from the end of a season through 30th June - the season that just ended is counted as one full season covered by the extension. ⓘArticle IX (Length Of Player Contracts) Section 2; Computation of Time:

For purposes of Section 1 above and consistent with Article VII, Section 9(a)(1), if a Player Contract or Extension is signed after the beginning of a Season, the Season in which the Contract or Extension is signed shall be counted as one (1) full Season covered by the Contract or Extension; and in the case of an Extension that is signed during the period from the end of a Season through the immediately following June 30, the Season immediately preceding the signing of the Extension (i.e., the just-completed Season) shall be counted as one (1) full Season covered by the Extension.

Minimum contract length

Before a season starts, the shortest duration of contract that a player can sign is for one season. After a season begins play, however, the shortest contract a player can sign is for the remainder of the season, using the art of proration to determine its value.

As the season goes on, a new tool emerges. Beginning on 5th January of any season, teams can sign players to 10-day contracts, which are by and large exactly what they sound like. (They are usually for ten days, at least, but can in fact be longer - if the team does not play three games in that 10-day span, then the contract will go on until the date of that third game, unless of course there is no third game because the season is over.)

Some new rules regarding 10-day contracts have been established. Firstly, in the event that the NBA authorizes a team to sign an extra player under the NBA’s hardship rules, that contract will be a 10-day contract, regardless of at what point in the season it is signed (10-dayers are usually only signable after 5th January, whereas hardship cases can of course occur at any time).

Secondly, if such a 10-day hardship contract extends up to or past the date of the team’s last regular season game, the term of that contract will be the number of days remaining in the regular season (including the day on which it is signed). Remember from the previous post that "regular season" does not include the Play-In tournament, and that this is a provision for hardship 10-day deals only; regular 10-dayers already could not extend beyond the end of the season)

Thirdly, if a 10-day contract is terminated early, the team and player cannot agree on a new one until the expiration date of the original one has passed. Again, it is unclear that this has ever happened or that it ever would, but it closes a (potentially inconsequential) loophole.

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