The 2026-27 NBA salary cap, tax, and aprons: every number that matters
Ben Bartlett · October 20, 2026
The NBA salary cap for 2026-27 is $164,961,000. The luxury tax line is $200,428,000, the first apron is $209,015,000, and the second apron is $221,686,000. The non-taxpayer mid-level exception is $15,044,000, and a first-year max contract runs from $41,240,250 to $57,736,350 depending on years of service.
The four lines
Every team-building question in the apron era starts with where a team sits against these four numbers. Under the cap, a team can sign free agents into room. Over it, a team works with exceptions and matched trades. Past the tax line it pays the luxury tax. Past each apron, specific tools switch off.
The exceptions
Exceptions are how an over-the-cap team adds salary without cap room. Which one a team can use depends on its apron position, and using some of them hard-caps the team for the rest of the season.
Max contracts
A max contract is a percentage of the cap set by the player's years of service. These are first-year figures; a contract can rise from there.
Trade matching numbers
Teams below the aprons can take back more salary than they send. The middle band of the expanded formula is indexed to the cap: it's $9,095,709 for 2026-27, not the flat $7.5M from 2023-24 that a lot of calculators still use. The $250,000 allowance is not indexed. Teams at or above either apron match dollar for dollar.
The minimum scale
Common questions
What is the NBA salary cap for 2026-27?
$164,961,000, set at the start of the league year on June 30, 2026.
How much is the NBA luxury tax line for 2026-27?
$200,428,000. The first apron sits at $209,015,000 and the second apron at $221,686,000.
What is the max contract in the NBA for 2026-27?
A first-year max is 25% of the cap ($41,240,250) for players with 0–6 years of service, 30% ($49,488,300) for 7–9 years, and 35% ($57,736,350) for 10 or more.
How much is the mid-level exception for 2026-27?
The non-taxpayer MLE is $15,044,000, the taxpayer MLE is $6,064,000, and the room MLE is $9,366,000.
Test a deal against these rules.
Build a trade or signing and the sim rules on it, with the relevant citation when one applies.