2014-15 NBA Salary Cap Computations

Hours before the moratorium period ended and free agency began Wednesday, the NBA released its financial figures for the 2014-15 season.

We have taken those figures and – with the help of folks like Larry Coon and Mark Deeks – have laid out the amounts for all of the exceptions and maximum salaries available to players this season.

TEAM SALARY

The salary cap will be $63.065 million. That is slightly lower than published projections but still represents a 7.5 percent increase over last season’s $58.679 million. The increase is just short of the mid-level exception, which means teams can add another player without using that exception. So much for the league’s financial struggles.

The luxury tax threshold is $76.829 million. That is an increase of 7.1 percent over last season’s figure of $71.748 million. But the tax line still represents a hard ceiling for the majority of teams.

The salary floor is $56.759 million. It is 90 percent of the salary cap and represents the absolute least a team can spend on players. Teams below the floor at the end of the season have to write a check for the difference to the NBA Players Association.

The tax apron is $80.829 million. It is always $4 million above the tax threshold. Teams above the apron lose certain rights, such as contract length, the ability to do sign-and-trade deals and use of the mid-level and bi-annual exception.

RELATED: Every NBA team’s salary cap room for this offseason

EXCEPTIONS

The mid-level exception is $5.305 million. It can be split among multiple players. Players signing for the full mid-level exception can be signed for four years  at raises of 4.5 percent. So …

YEAR 1: $5.305 million

YEAR 2: $5.544 million

YEAR 3: $5.782 million

YEAR 4: $6.021 million

The taxpayer mid-level exception is $3.278 million. Players can be signed for up to three years at raises of 4.5 percent. So …

 

YEAR 1: $3.278 million

YEAR 2:  $3.426 million

YEAR 3: $3.573 million

The bi-annual exception is $2.077 million. It is exactly as it sounds; teams can use it every two years, for two-year deals with a 4.5 percent raise in the second year. So …

YEAR 1: $2.077 million

YEAR 2: $2,170 million

The room exception is $2.732 million. It can only be used by teams who are below the salary cap and cannot use their other exceptions. It can be used annually for two-year deals with a 4.5 percent raise in the second year. So …

YEAR 1: $2.732 million

YEAR 2: $2.855 million

RELATED: Salaries, draft picks and exceptions for all 30 teams

PLAYER SALARIES

The minimum salary is $507,336. For the first time in NBA history, every player will make at least half a million bucks for an entire season.

The veteran’s minimum for players with 10-plus years of experience is $1,448,490. The league offsets a portion of this amount when computing a team’s total payroll.

The maximum salary for players with 0-6 years is $14,746,000. That is roughly 25 percent of the salary cap. Signing a player from another team to a four-year contract with the maximum 4.5 percent annual raises totals $62,970,000. Signing a player from your own team to a four-year contract with the maximum 7.5 percent raises totals $65,620,000. Signing a player from your own team to a five-year contract with the maximum 7.5 percent raises totals $84,790,000.

The maximum salary for players with 7-9 years is $17,695,200. That is roughly 30 percent of the salary cap. The four-year deal with 4.5 percent raises totals $75,558,700. The four-year deal with 7.5 percent raises totals $78,743,700. The fifth year brings it to $101,747,700.

The maximum salary for players with 10-plus years is $20,644,400. That is roughly 35 percent of the salary cap. The four-year deal with 4.5 percent raises totals $88,153,400.  The four-year deal with 7.5 percent raises is $91,867,400. The fifth year brings it to $118,705,400.

Players also can opt for 105 percent of their previous salary if it is larger than the maximum salary.