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 $170,381,400 -$7,750,600 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 $175,862,770 -$2,269,230 First apron hard cap S&T (Shake Milton);
ETPE (D’Angelo Russell/Maxwell Lewis)
Charlotte Hornets $167,243,306 -$10,888,694 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 $172,806,610 -$5,325,390 First apron hard cap ETPE (De’Andre Hunter)
Dallas Mavericks $178.808,852 -$51,148 First apron hard cap S&T (Klay Thompson)
NTMLE (Naji Marshall)
ETPE (Klay Thompson, 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 $176,999,638 -$1,132,362 First apron hard cap NTMLE (De’Anthony Melton); S&T (Buddy Hield, Kyle Anderson); ETPE (Dennis Schröder, Jimmy Butler)
Houston Rockets $170,921,311 -$7,210,689 First apron hard cap Preexisting TPE (Kevin Porter Jr. for Adrian Griffin)
BAE (Aaron Holiday)
NTMLE (Jaden Springer, Cody Zeller, Nate Williams)
Indiana Pacers $171,149,739 -$6,982,261 Under first apron; Second apron hard cap Cash out (SAS, TOR)
LA Clippers $170,720,454 -$7,411,546 First apron hard cap NTMLE (Derrick Jones Jr., Jordan Miller)
ETPE (Bogdanović, MarJon Beauchamp)
Los Angeles Lakers $188,037,153 -$893,647 Second apron hard cap Aggregation (Maxi Kleber)
Memphis Grizzlies $166,510,487 -$11,621,513 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 $185,621,334 -$3,309,666 Second apron hard cap Cash out (NYK, SAS, WAS)
Minnesota Timberwolves $205,543,620 $16,612,620 Above second apron None
New Orleans Pelicans $172,264,604 -$5,867,396 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 $170,359,860 -$7,772,140 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 $171,883,768 -$6,248,232 First apron hard cap ETPE (DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine, Jake LaRavia); S&T (DeMar DeRozan)
San Antonio Spurs $167,638,808 -$10,493,192 First apron hard cap ETPE (De’Aaron Fox)
Toronto Raptors $176,320,407 -$1,811,593 First apron hard cap ETPE (Sasha Vezenkov, PJ Tucker)
Utah Jazz $154,923,317 -$23,208,683 First apron hard cap ETPE (Russell Westbrook, PJ Tucker)
Washington Wizards $177,224,214 -$907,786 First apron hard cap ETPE (Malcolm Brogdon, Marcus Smart); NTMLE (Saddiq Bey, Justin Champagnie)

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 3/7/25)