NBA Salary Cap Tracker by Team

The NBA salary cap is the limit on the total amount of money that NBA teams can spend on their players' salaries for a given season. For the 2025-26 season, the salary cap has been set at $154.647 million, which represents a 10% increase from the previous season. This cap is based on Basketball Related Income (BRI), which includes revenue from ticket sales, broadcasting rights, merchandise, and other basketball-related sources.

Unlike the NFL and NHL, the NBA features what is known as a "soft cap," meaning teams can exceed the salary cap threshold using various exceptions. However, teams that significantly exceed the cap face luxury tax penalties. The luxury tax threshold for 2025-26 is set at $187.895 million, and teams that surpass this amount must pay additional taxes on the overage.

The NBA also enforces a salary floor, which is the minimum amount teams must spend on player salaries. For 2025-26, the salary floor is $139.182 million. Teams that fail to meet this minimum by the start of the regular season must pay the shortfall to the NBA and forfeit their full share of luxury tax distribution.

The NBA's soft salary cap system allows teams to exceed the cap limit through various exceptions designed to help teams retain their own players and remain competitive. The most significant exception is the Larry Bird Exception (named after Boston Celtics legend Larry Bird), which allows teams to re-sign their own free agents for any amount, even if it puts them over the cap. This encourages team continuity and loyalty by allowing franchises to keep their star players.

Other key exceptions include the Mid-Level Exception (MLE), which allows teams to sign players even when over the cap. For 2025-26, the Non-Taxpayer Mid-Level is $14.104 million, the Taxpayer Mid-Level is $5.685 million, and teams with cap room can use a $8.781 million Mid-Level. Additionally, teams can use the Bi-Annual Exception and various trade exceptions to acquire talent.

The NBA has also implemented the Apron System to create additional spending tiers. The First Apron is set at $195.945 million and the Second Apron at $207.824 million for 2025-26. Teams whose total salary exceeds these thresholds face increasingly severe restrictions. Teams over the First Apron lose access to certain exceptions and trade flexibility. Teams over the Second Apron face even harsher penalties, including the loss of most signing exceptions and the inability to make trades that increase their payroll.

Teams that exceed the luxury tax threshold must pay dollar-for-dollar penalties on the overage, with the tax rate increasing for repeat offenders. These luxury tax payments are then distributed among teams that stayed under the tax line, creating a financial incentive for fiscal responsibility while still allowing wealthy franchises to spend on championship-caliber rosters.