The CBA Glossary
An explainer thing for the NBA's Collective Bargaining Agreement
The NBA's "Aprons"
Over the last few Collective Bargaining Agreements
How aprons work First apron Second apron Triggers What happens when crossed?
How the aprons work
Apron Team Salary” means, for a Team for a Salary Cap Year,
the Team’s Team Salary:
(i) plus all Performance Bonuses excluded from a player’s
Salary under Section 3(d) below;
(ii) plus the Salary attributable to a Contract signed by a Free
Agent with zero (0) Years of Service or one (1) Year of
Service provided for in Section 2(d)(1)(i)(F) above;
(iii) plus any amount that could be added to the Team’s Team
Salary for such Salary Cap Year pursuant to
Section 4(a)(1)(iii) below;
(iv) minus any Free Agent Amounts as described in Section
4(a)(2) below;
(v) plus, with respect to any Restricted Free Agent, the greater
of (A) the Salary plus Unlikely Bonuses called for in any
Article VII 187
outstanding Qualifying Offer (or any outstanding Maximum
Qualifying Offer, if applicable) tendered to the player, or
(B) the Salary plus Unlikely Bonuses called for in any First
Refusal Exercise Notice (as defined in Article XI,
Section 5(g)) issued with respect to such player;
(vi) minus any amounts with respect to unsigned First Round
Picks described in Section 4(a)(4) below;
(vii) plus the amount of any outstanding Required Tender to a
First Round Pick;
(viii) minus the amount of any Salary Cap Exception that is
deemed included in Team Salary pursuant to Sections 4(a)(7)
and 6(n)(2) below;
(ix) plus any amount excluded from its Team Salary pursuant to
Section 4(l) below; and
(x) minus the amount of any incomplete roster cap hold amount
added to the Team’s Salary pursuant to Section 4(f) below.
) At any point during a Salary Cap Year, the following rules
shall apply with respect to the transactions listed in the table
in Section 2(e)(4) below (the “Transaction Restrictions
Table”):
(A) A Team may not engage in a transaction set forth in
the Transaction Restrictions Table if, immediately
following such transaction, the Team’s Apron Team
Salary for such Salary Cap Year would exceed the
“Applicable Apron Level” that corresponds with
such transaction in the table; and
(B) A Team that engages in a transaction set forth in the
Transaction Restrictions Table may not, for the
remainder of such Salary Cap Year, have an Apron
Team Salary that exceeds the Applicable Apron
Level that corresponds with such transaction in the
table.
First apron
Second apron
The second apron, if triggered, is non-negotiable. You cannot go over it at all. It is not the like the salary cap (which is so easy to go over, everyone routinely does it) or the luxury tax (which you can go over if you want but at a cost.) It is a hard cap a team imposes on itself by certain actions. So if you spend up to the apron, then cannot field eight healthy players and need to sign another ... well, you're going to have to trade or stretch someone pretty sharpish. It is non-negotiable.
Should the Knicks surpass the second apron, they will face great limitations on what they can do. They will not be able to acquire any players in sign-and-trades, use trade exceptions from previous years, or use the Bi-Annual exception at all. In trades, they will not be allowed to take back more than 100 percent of the salary they send out, and will also be limited to just using the minimum salary contract to add external free agents. Being over the second apron also would prohibit them from aggregating contracts nor trade multiple players in the same deal, while also forbidding them from sending cash out in trades. And finally, second apron teams cannot trade first-round picks that are seven years in the future, limited only to six
How the aprons are triggered
As explain in the
a “First Apron Level” and a “Second Apron Level” as
follows:
(A) For the 2023-24 Salary Cap Year, the First Apron
Level shall equal the sum of: (1) the Tax Level for
the 2023-24 Salary Cap Year, and (2) $6.716 million
multiplied by a fraction, the numerator of which is
the average of the Salary Cap for the 2022-23 Salary
Cap Year and the Salary Cap for the 2023-24 Salary
Cap Year, and the denominator of which is the
Salary Cap for the 2022-23 Salary Cap Year. For
each subsequent Salary Cap Year, the First Apron
Level shall equal the First Apron Level for the
2023-24 Salary Cap Year multiplied by a fraction, the
numerator of which is the Salary Cap for the
applicable Salary Cap Year and the denominator of
which is the Salary Cap for the 2023-24 Salary Cap
Year.
(B) For the 2023-24 Salary Cap Year, the Second Apron
Level shall equal the sum of: (1) the Tax Level for
the 2023-24 Salary Cap Year, and (2) $17.5 million.
For each subsequent Salary Cap Year, the Second
Apron Level shall equal the Second Apron Level for
the 2023-24 Salary Cap Year multiplied by a fraction,
the numerator of which is the Salary Cap for the
applicable Salary Cap Year and the denominator of
which is the Salary Cap for the 2023-24 Salary Cap
Year.
The First Apron Level would be $187.212 million (i.e., $169.807
million (the 2023-24 First Apron Level) multiplied by a fraction, the
numerator of which is $147.735 million (the 2025-26 Salary Cap)
and the denominator of which is $134 million (the 2023-24 Salary
Cap)); and
Article VII 173
• The Second Apron Level would be $198.792 million (i.e., $180.31
million (the 2023-24 Second Apron Level) multiplied by a fraction,
the numerator of which is $147.735 (the 2025-26 Salary Cap) and
the denominator of which is $134 million (the 2023-24 Salary Cap)).
What happens
How aprons work First apron Second apron Triggers What happens when crossed?
WHAT THE CBA ACTUALLY SAYS
- What the salary cap is From why we're even here, to the difference between a hard cap and soft cap.
- Fundamental salary basics Guarantees, proration, maximum raises/decreases, 10-day contracts, roster sizes, etc
MAIN TAKEAWAYS:
- The more your team are over the luxury tax threshold, the more your team will pay.
- The more regularly your team is over the luxury tax threshold, the more your team will pay, too.
- Teams under the tax threshold not only avoid penalty, but get rebates, which do not change their salary cap picture but which do improve the cash position.
- In addition to the luxury tax - whose effectiveness as a payroll deterrent had dwindled in light of the Golden State Warriors' extravagant spending - the NBA has recently introduced the "apron" thresholds, which exist in addition to the tax, and which are designed to reduce excessive spending not just through extra payments but through reduced spending options. See the Aprons page for more.