Under the NBA’s previous Collective Bargaining Agreement, the values of various salary cap exceptions like the mid-level and bi-annual were established years in advance, but the league’s current CBA tweaked how those exceptions are calculated.
Rather than being determined ahead of time, the mid-level and bi-annual exceptions – along with several other cap-related figures and exceptions – are dependent on the movement of the salary cap from year to year. If the cap increases by 5% from one league year to the next, the exceptions increase by the same rate.
As such, we don’t know yet exactly what those exceptions will be worth in 2022/23, but we can make an educated estimate. When the NBA released its new salary cap estimates, the league projected a $123,655,000 cap for the ’22/23 season. That means we’re due for an update on next season’s mid-level and bi-annual projections.
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Based on a $123,655,000 cap, here’s what the mid-level and bi-annual exceptions would look like in 2022/23:
Mid-Level Exception
| Year | Standard MLE |
Taxpayer MLE | Room MLE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | $10,490,000 | $6,479,000 | $5,401,000 |
| 2023/24 | $11,014,500 | $6,802,950 | $5,671,050 |
| 2024/25 | $11,539,000 | $7,126,900 | – |
| 2025/26 | $12,063,500 | – | – |
| Total | $45,107,000 | $20,408,850 | $11,072,050 |
The standard mid-level exception is available to over-the-cap teams that haven’t dipped below the cap to use room and don’t go over the tax apron. It can run for up to four years, with 5% annual raises. Once a team uses the standard/non-taxpayer MLE, that team is hard-capped at the tax apron for the rest of the league year.
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The taxpayer mid-level exception is for in-the-tax teams, or teams that want the flexibility to surpass the tax apron later. It can run for up to three years, with 5% annual raises.
The room exception is for teams that go under the cap and use their space. Once they’ve used all their cap room, they can use this version of the mid-level exception, which runs for up to two years with 5% annual raises.
Bi-Annual Exception
| Year | BAE Value |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | $4,105,000 |
| 2023/24 | $4,310,250 |
| Total | $8,415,250 |
The bi-annual exception – which can be used for contracts up to two years, with a 5% raise after year one – is only available to teams that are over the cap and under the tax apron.
It can also only be used once every two years, which will disqualify the Mavericks and Bulls from using it in 2022/23 — Dallas and Chicago were the only teams to use the BAE in 2021/22.
Tax MLE needs to be higher
It would allow Lakers to acquire a better player
It increases the revenues for the league
I agree that 6-7 mil doesn’t buy much in todays NBA market for teams looking to improve playoff positiong in the short term.
Feel like it would be better to ditch most of these exceptions
tax paying teams already overspent on their roster and made that choice, why should they get a bigger exception?