Hard Cap Tracker

Teams are hard-capped at the 1st or 2nd apron when they perform any of the following:
1st Apron
  1. 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)
  2. TP-MLE Length Exceeded: Sign a player using the Mid-Level Exception and the length exceeds the taxpayer MLE limit (2 years).
  3. MLE Trade: Use the taxpayer MLE to acquire a player in a trade
  4. MLE Waivers: Use the taxpayer MLE to acquire a player through waivers
  5. BAE: Sign, trade for, or claim a player on waivers using the Bi-Annual Exception
  6. S&T: Acquire a player through a sign-and-trade
  7. Trade Salary Acquired: In a trade, the team acquired salary
  8. 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
  9. Past-Season TPE: Uses a traded player exception generated during the previous off-season or regular season
2nd Apron
  1. Any MLE: Sign a player using any Mid-Level Exception
  2. Trade Aggregate: Aggregates two or more players in a trade for salary-matching purposes
  3. Cash Traded: Sends out cash in a trade
  4. S&T Room Used: Sends out a player via sign-and-trade and uses that player’s outgoing salary to take back a contract
  5. 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
TeamCapped AtAny MLETrade AggregateCash TradedS&T Room UsedS&T Exc. Used
Logo of the Chicago BullsChicago BullsCHI1st ApronJalen Smith (Jul 8)
Logo of the Denver NuggetsDenver NuggetsDEN2nd ApronDario Saric (Jul 12)
Logo of the Indiana PacersIndiana PacersIND2nd ApronJun 27 trade
Logo of the New York KnicksNew York KnicksNYK2nd ApronJun 25 tradeJun 25 trade