Hard Cap Tracker
Teams are hard-capped at the 1st or 2nd apron when they perform any of the following:
1st Apron
- TP-MLE Exceeded: Sign one or more players using the Mid-Level Exception and the sum exceeds the taxpayer MLE limit. ($5,168,000 for the 2024-25 season)
- TP-MLE Length Exceeded: Sign a player using the Mid-Level Exception and the length exceeds the taxpayer MLE limit (2 years).
- MLE Trade: Use the taxpayer MLE to acquire a player in a trade
- MLE Waivers: Use the taxpayer MLE to acquire a player through waivers
- BAE: Sign, trade for, or claim a player on waivers using the Bi-Annual Exception
- S&T: Acquire a player through a sign-and-trade
- Trade Salary Acquired: In a trade, the team acquired salary
- Waived & Signed: Signs a player who was waived during the regular season and whose pre-waiver salary was higher than the non-taxpayer mid-level exception
- Past-Season TPE: Uses a traded player exception generated during the previous off-season or regular season
2nd Apron
- Any MLE: Sign a player using any Mid-Level Exception
- Trade Aggregate: Aggregates two or more players in a trade for salary-matching purposes
- Cash Traded: Sends out cash in a trade
- S&T Room Used: Sends out a player via sign-and-trade and uses that player’s outgoing salary to take back a contract
- S&T Exc. Used: Sends out a player via sign-and-trade and uses the resulting traded player exception to acquire a player via trade or waiver claim
Teams Hard Capped:
First apron:Second apron:1st Apron Triggers
2nd Apron Triggers