One of the goals of the NBA’s latest Collective Bargaining Agreement is to curb spending. The higher a team’s payroll, the fewer tools they have.

The NBA has a soft cap, which allows teams to spend without limit, provided they have the tools (more formally, “exceptions”) to do so. But certain exceptions will trigger hard spending limits at the first ($178.1 million) or second ($188.9 million) aprons. Once a team chooses to have a hard cap, it cannot, under any circumstance, climb above it. Similarly, if a team is above an apron, it cannot use an exception that would trigger that spending limit.

The first apron is triggered by the use of the Non-Taxpayer Mid-Level Exception (NTMLE), Bi-Annual Exception (BAE) or from acquiring a player via sign-and-trade (S&T). The second apron is triggered by using the Taxpayer Mid-Level Exception (TMLE). Additionally, teams above the apron cannot use the Expanded Traded Player Exception (ETPE) that allows for salary matching above 110 percent (through the 2023-24 regular season, then reduces to no more than 100 percent), among other triggers.

The following lists each team, their apron payroll (which includes all player incentives), their apron status and the tools used to trigger a hard cap, if applicable:

Team Apron Payroll
 Over/Under
 Level Trigger(s)
Atlanta Hawks $169,769,541 -$8,362,459 First apron hard cap S&T (Cody Zeller), Preexisting TPE (multiple players in via John Collins)
ETPE (Caris LeVert, Georges Niang, Bones Hyland)
NTMLE (Terance Mann)
Boston Celtics $193,336,448 $4,405,448 Above second apron None
Brooklyn Nets $175,106,945 -$3,025,055 First apron hard cap S&T (Shake Milton);
ETPE (D’Angelo Russell/Maxwell Lewis)
Charlotte Hornets $167,003,362 -$11,128,638 First apron hard cap Cash out (DEN, SAS); S&T (Duane Washington Jr., DaQuan Jeffries, Charlie Brown Jr.); ETPE (Josh Okogie, Jusuf Nurkić)
Chicago Bulls $168,731,854 -$9,400,146 First apron hard cap NTMLE (Jalen Smith)
Cleveland Cavaliers $172,086,776 -$6,045,224 First apron hard cap ETPE (De’Andre Hunter)
Dallas Mavericks $177,960,880 -$171,120 First apron hard cap NTMLE (Naji Marshall)
ETPE (Anthony Davis/Max Christie)
Denver Nuggets $183,774,315 -$5,156,685 Second apron hard cap TMLE (Dario  Šarić)
Detroit Pistons $142,808,943 -$35,323,057 Under first apron; Second apron hard cap Cash out (GSW, PHI)
Golden State Warriors $176,759,694 -$1,372,306 First apron hard cap NTMLE (De’Anthony Melton); S&T (Buddy Hield, Kyle Anderson); ETPE (Dennis Schröder, Jimmy Butler)
Houston Rockets $170,405,430 -$7,726,570 First apron hard cap Preexisting TPE (Kevin Porter Jr. for Adrian Griffin)
BAE (Aaron Holiday)
NTMLE (Jaden Springer, Cody Zeller)
Indiana Pacers $171,029,767 -$7,102,233 Under first apron; Second apron hard cap Cash out (SAS, TOR)
LA Clippers $169,670,454 -$8,461,546 First apron hard cap NTMLE (Derrick Jones Jr.)
ETPE (Bogdanović, MarJon Beauchamp)
Los Angeles Lakers $188,037,153 -$893,647 Second apron hard cap Aggregation (Maxi Kleber)
Memphis Grizzlies $166,270,543 -$11,861,457 First apron hard cap NTMLE (Scottie Pippen Jr., Jay Huff)
ETPE (Johnny Davis)
Miami Heat $176,170,988 -$1,961,012 First apron hard cap NTMLE (Kyle Anderson)
Milwaukee Bucks $185,129,447 -$3,801,553 Second apron hard cap Cash out (NYK, SAS, WAS)
Minnesota Timberwolves $205,051,297 $16,120,297 Above second apron None
New Orleans Pelicans $172,027,094 -$6,104,906 First apron hard cap ETPE (Dejounte Murray)
NTMLE (Kelly Olynyk)
New York Knicks $188,390,873 -$540,127 Second apron hard cap Aggregation (Mikal Bridges, Karl-Anthony Towns)
Oklahoma City Thunder $167,068,467 -$11,063,533 First apron hard cap ETPE (Alex Caruso)
Orlando Magic $152,959,238 -$25,172,762 Under first apron None
Philadelphia 76ers $168,833,202 -$9,298,798 Under first apron None
Phoenix Suns $214,871,340 $25,940,340 Above second apron None
Portland Trail Blazers $168,712,097 -$9,419,903 Under first apron None
Sacramento Kings $171,031,965 -$7,100,035 First apron hard cap ETPE (DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine, Jake LaRavia); S&T (DeMar DeRozan)
San Antonio Spurs $167,014,952 -$11,117,048 First apron hard cap ETPE (De’Aaron Fox)
Toronto Raptors $175,588,576 -$2,543,424 First apron hard cap ETPE (Sasha Vezenkov, PJ Tucker)
Utah Jazz $154,168,908 -$23,963,092 First apron hard cap ETPE (Russell Westbrook, PJ Tucker)
Washington Wizards $175,136,281 -$2,995,719 First apron hard cap ETPE (Malcolm Brogdon, Marcus Smart); NTMLE (Saddiq Bey)

Check back for updates as teams make transactions throughout the year.

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

(Updated on 2/11/25)