The NBA has finalized the salary parameters for contracts signed under the Collective Bargaining Agreement’s second-round pick exception in the 2026-27 league year.
Created in 2023, the mechanism lets clubs ink second-round selections to standard deals without using cap space or another exception. Teams may employ it multiple times in the same season.
Contract Structures
Three-year deal
- Year 1: up to the one-year veteran minimum ($2,185,116 in 2026-27).
- Years 2-3: fixed at the rookie second- and third-year minimums ($2,294,370 and $2,694,363).
- Year 3 is a team option.
The maximum value over three seasons is $7,173,849. If Year 1 starts at the rookie minimum ($1,357,763), the total falls to $6,346,496.
Four-year deal
- Year 1: up to the two-year veteran minimum ($2,449,421).
- Year 2: up to the one-year veteran second-year minimum ($2,571,895).
- Years 3-4: set at rookie third- and fourth-year minimums ($2,694,363 and $2,918,152).
- Year 4 is a team option.
The ceiling for this structure is $10,633,831. Minimum opening salaries of $1,357,763 (Year 1) and $2,294,370 (Year 2) produce a four-year total of $9,264,648, a figure already reached by two recent second-round signees. Any Year-to-Year 2 raise above the minimum cannot exceed 5 percent.
Cap Timing
Players signed via the exception do not hit the salary cap between July 1 and July 30 of their rookie season, allowing clubs to preserve space through the bulk of free agency while still getting draftees under contract before Summer League play.
Source: Hoops Rumors
