In September, the NBA raised its salary cap projection for the 2023-24 season from $133 million to $134 million with a luxury tax threshold of $162 million. That’s an 8.37 percent increase from the current 2022-23 campaign’s $122.7 million salary cap and a 7.81 percent increase in the tax threshold from $150.3 million.

By December 15, 2022, the NBA and National Basketball Players Association can opt out of the current collective bargaining agreement. A new deal could lead to a system change that alters the landscape of the league. Or it could be very much like the current system.

Based on the rules in place, the climb in salary cap from $123.7 million to $134 million would have the following impact on the 2023-24 season, starting with maximum salaries (based on the players’ years of service in the league):

YOS
 2022-23 2023-24
0-6 $30,913,750 $33,500,000
7-9 $37,096,500 $40,200,000
10+ $43,279,250 $46,900,000

Minimum salaries would similarly climb:

YOS
 2022-23 2023-24
0 $1,017,781 $1,102,929
1 $1,637,966 $1,774,999
2 $1,836,090 $1,989,698
3 $1,902,133 $2,061,266
4 $1,968,175 $2,132,833
5 $2,133,278 $2,311,748
6 $2,298,385 $2,490,668
7 $2,463,490 $2,669,586
8 $2,628,597 $2,848,506
9 $2,641,682 $2,862,686
10+ $2,905,851 $3,148,955


Note: the NBA reimburses teams for the amount over the two YOS veteran minimum, provided the contract is a one-year minimum deal. In those cases, the player will count against the cap at the two YOS minimum, which would also be their outgoing salary in trade.

The following exceptions will also climb with the cap:

Exception 2022-23 2023-24
Non-Taxpayer Mid-Level $10,490,000 $11,368,000
Taxpayer Mid-Level $6,479,000 $7,021,000
Room Mid-Level $5,401,000 $5,853,000
Bi-Annual $4,105,000 $4,448,000


Teams below the salary cap will have access to just the Room Mid-Level Exception (RMLE). Those who do not drop under the salary cap but stay below the NBA’s hard cap (or apron) can use the Non-Taxpayer Mid-Level (NTMLE) and Bi-Annual (BAE) Exceptions. Tax teams above the apron will only have the Taxpayer Mid-Level (TMLE)

With a luxury tax projection at $162 million, the apron (hard cap) projects to reach $168,998,000. At 90 percent of the cap, the minimum team salary would be $120,600,000.

Additionally, rookie-scale contracts (for the top-30 draft picks in June) will climb proportionately. The scale amount for the No. 1 pick would be $9,983,300, though it’s nearly a standard for players drafted in the first round to earn the maximum 120 percent of scale. The following table shows the projected rookie-scale salaries (at 120 percent) for the 2023 draft class:

Pick 2023-24 2024-25 2025-26 2026-27 Proj. Qualifying Offer
1 $11,979,960 $12,579,240 $13,178,160 $16,617,660 $21,602,958
2 $10,718,760 $11,254,920 $11,790,960 $14,880,192 $19,418,651
3 $9,625,800 $10,106,760 $10,588,320 $13,383,636 $17,559,330
4 $8,678,400 $9,112,440 $9,546,600 $12,076,449 $15,928,836
5 $7,858,920 $8,251,560 $8,644,560 $10,952,658 $14,523,225
6 $7,137,840 $7,494,720 $7,851,840 $9,956,133 $13,281,481
7 $6,516,000 $6,842,040 $7,167,480 $9,102,700 $12,206,721
8 $5,969,400 $6,268,080 $6,566,520 $8,352,613 $11,259,322
9 $5,487,120 $5,761,800 $6,036,000 $7,689,864 $10,419,766
10 $5,212,800 $5,473,320 $5,733,840 $7,310,646 $9,957,100
11 $4,952,160 $5,199,840 $5,447,640 $7,229,018 $9,896,526
12 $4,704,720 $4,940,040 $5,175,360 $7,131,646 $9,813,145
13 $4,469,280 $4,692,960 $4,916,400 $7,025,536 $9,716,316
14 $4,246,200 $4,458,360 $4,670,880 $6,917,573 $9,622,344
15 $4,033,440 $4,235,160 $4,436,760 $6,801,553 $9,508,571
16 $3,831,960 $4,023,600 $4,215,360 $6,466,362 $9,085,239
17 $3,640,200 $3,822,240 $4,004,280 $6,150,574 $8,684,610
18 $3,458,400 $3,631,080 $3,804,120 $5,850,737 $8,302,196
19 $3,302,640 $3,467,640 $3,633,120 $5,595,005 $7,978,477
20 $3,170,400 $3,328,920 $3,487,080 $5,377,077 $7,705,351
21 $3,043,560 $3,195,840 $3,348,120 $5,333,555 $7,685,653
22 $2,922,000 $3,068,040 $3,214,080 $5,287,162 $7,655,811
23 $2,805,240 $2,945,640 $3,085,440 $5,235,992 $7,618,368
24 $2,693,160 $2,827,680 $2,962,440 $5,181,308 $7,575,072
25 $2,585,040 $2,714,160 $2,843,880 $5,121,828 $7,523,965
26 $2,499,480 $2,624,280 $2,749,320 $4,957,024 $7,316,567
27 $2,427,360 $2,548,800 $2,670,360 $4,817,329 $7,144,099
28 $2,412,240 $2,533,320 $2,653,680 $4,789,892 $7,136,939
29 $2,394,960 $2,514,600 $2,634,480 $4,755,236 $7,132,854
30 $2,377,560 $2,496,240 $2,615,520 $4,721,014 $7,081,521

Additionally, the amount of cash that teams can use in trade projects to climb from the current figure of $6,363,000. A franchise will be able to send out as much as $6,885,000 from July 2023 to June 30, 2024. A team can also receive the same amount via trade, regardless of how much it sends out throughout the 2023-24 season.

Email Eric Pincus at eric.pincus@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @EricPincus.