NBA Increases Salary Cap 10% As Teams Struggle With Aprons

The NBA will raise the salary cap by 10% for the 2025–2026 season, bringing the cap number from $140.6 million to $154.6 million, according to ESPN. The bump is the largest possible percent increase allowed by the collective bargaining agreement.

According to ESPN front office insider Bobby Marks, the 10% raise was not a surprise and aligns with the projections the league gave teams last June. This is the third time in four years that the salary cap has increased by the maximum number, though last year was the exception as the cap rose by just 3.4%. 

The NBA has capped its yearly increases at 10% since a cap spike in 2016 triggered by a new media-rights deal saw a 34% year-over-year increase in salary cap. This allowed the Warriors to sign Kevin Durant from the Thunder that offseason.

A Little Reprieve 

Despite the expected outcome, the confirmed increase will help teams navigate through the league’s cap structure that added apron thresholds when the latest collective bargaining agreement took effect last season. Breaching the first- and second-apron thresholds comes with penalties that hamper a team’s roster construction, which include the inability to aggregate salaries in trades and, for repeat violators, the inability to trade certain future first-round picks.

According to data by Spotrac, three teams are projected to be second-apron violators next season: the Celtics, Suns, and Cavaliers. Another three teams are projected to be first-apron violators: the Nuggets, Magic, and Knicks. However, these projections don’t include teams that would breach one of the thresholds once they sign the minimum required players.

Celtics team governor Wyc Grousbeck, who agreed to sell the franchise last week for a record $6.1 billion, acknowledged that on top of the record tax bill his franchise is due next season, the team is also concerned about the “basketball penalties” that come with violating the second apron.