NBA Maximum Salary Projections For 2017/18

Back in March, we published maximum salary projections based on a $102MM salary cap. Since then, the NBA has reduced its projection for the 2017/18 league year to $101MM. The difference is small, but it’s enough to affect what maximum salary contracts would look like. For instance, a player like Chris Paul could earn more than $207MM on a five-year max with the Clippers with a $102MM cap. With a $101MM cap, his maximum earnings slip a little to about $205MM.

While maximum salary contracts start at the same amount no matter where a player signs, players re-signing with their own teams can get larger raises and more years than if they sign elsewhere.

Additionally, players with less than seven years of NBA experience can only get a maximum salary worth 25% of the cap, while veterans with more experience can sign deals that start at 30% or 35% of the cap. So, the figures below reflect the various salaries that players like Nerlens Noel (less than six years), Gordon Hayward (7-9 years), and Paul (10+ years) could get on max contracts.

You can check out our story from March for more details on maximum salary contracts. For now, here’s what new max deals will tentatively look like this summer based on a $101MM cap:

A player re-signing with his own team (8% annual raises, up to five years):

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A player signing with a new team (5% annual raises, up to four years):

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