The NBA announced on Sunday that its salary cap for the 2024–25 season would be $140.588 million.
Compared to the January report of $141 million, it represents a minor decline. On Monday, the cap became effective at 12:01 a.m. ET. At 6 p.m.
on Sunday, teams were permitted to deal with free agents other than those on their own teams.
The cap is predicated on the anticipated revenue from basketball for the forthcoming campaign.
The 2024–25 cap is 3.4% higher than the 2023–24 cap of $136 million.
It comes after consecutive years of hikes of 10%, which is the maximum amount that the cap can rise in accordance with the collective bargaining agreement.
With the league on the cusp of negotiating a TV agreement worth at least $75 billion and more than a 150% rise on the previous yearly average, next season will probably be the last one for the foreseeable future without a 10% cap raise.
It would result in a $206 million ceiling for the 2028–2029 campaign.
90% of the wage cap is represented by the $126.5 million minimum club pay for the season.
A team is required to pay the league the difference if its payroll falls short of the minimum. Additionally, clubs who fail to meet the minimum are not eligible to receive a portion of the NBA’s luxury tax payments, which are given to non-taxpaying teams.
According to projections from ESPN’s Bobby Marks, the NBA normally gives half of its luxury tax revenues to the clubs that remain below the tax threshold, which for 2023–24 is $12 million per team.
With the first “apron” at $178.1 million and the second apron at $188.9 million, the tax level for the 2024–25 season is $170.8 million.
According to Marks, the Golden State Warriors ($177 million), Los Angeles Clippers ($142 million), Phoenix Suns ($68 million), Milwaukee Bucks ($53 million), and Boston Celtics ($44 million) will have the most luxury tax liabilities for the 2023–24 season.
Other taxpayers were the Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat, and Denver Nuggets.
Because the rookie scale is linked to the cap, the final cap amount also indicates that rookie contracts for first-round NBA Draft picks will be 3.4% higher than the class from the prior year.
The Atlanta Hawks selected Zachary Risacher first overall, and he should agree to a four-year contract worth $57 million.
Although the NBA limit will only be raised slightly, its long-term rise will outpace that of other American sports leagues and salary caps in other sports.
For the 2014–15 season, the NBA salary cap was $63 million, which was over 10% less than the NHL cap of $69 million.
However, the NBA’s cap skyrocketed after its $24 billion TV deal went into effect.
The NHL has gained 28% since the 2014–15 season, while the NBA cap has increased by 123%. The NFL cap has increased by 92%.
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