TITLE: NBA Raises 2026/27 Salary-Cap Projection to $166 Million
SLUG: nba-raises-2026-27-salary-cap-projection
CONTENT:
The NBA told its 30 franchises on Friday that the league now expects the 2026/27 salary cap to reach $166 million, according to Jake Fischer of The Stein Line.
When the league set the 2025/26 cap at $154,647,000, teams were advised to plan for a 7% jump the following season, which would have produced a $165,472,000 ceiling. The updated figure is slightly higher, though it remains unclear whether the league simply rounded up to $166 million or adjusted the projected growth rate—potentially to 7.5%.
The modest increase offers marginal relief for clubs preparing to operate either below the cap or near the luxury-tax and apron thresholds in 2026/27.
Under the current Collective Bargaining Agreement, annual cap growth cannot exceed 10%, a safeguard put in place after the 34.5% spike in 2016 that enabled the 73-win Golden State Warriors to sign Kevin Durant. A full 10% rise from the 2025/26 figure would have produced a $170,112,000 cap, a number the league’s early projection suggests is unlikely to be reached next summer.
Source: Hoops Rumors
