Even those who have followed the NBA for decades may have a hard time understanding how the salary cap actually works, and may need an explanation of the league's second apron.
Talk of the new collective bargaining agreement, the luxury tax, etc. has been quite confusing, and many sites have been unable to share a concise, easy-to-understand explanation. With that in mind, we’ll take a deeper look at the second bib rules, as well as the second bib number and some other questions you may have.
What is the second NBA apron?
The NBA's collective bargaining agreement (also known as the CBA) is unlike those in other major sports leagues. Unlike the NFL or NHL, there is no hard salary cap in the NBA. Furthermore, teams typically spend more than their “soft” cap allows because they are allowed to over-re-sign free agents, players with minimum contracts, and draft picks.
That’s why the league created a fancy tax system and formula to force teams that spend too much to pay taxes—literally. Now the league has also created some new aprons to punish repeat offenders, imposing a “repeat tax” on those who beat the tax three out of four years.
How does the second apron work?
Simply put, the more a team spends and exceeds the tax threshold — which is about 121.5% of the salary cap — the more money it pays for every dollar it spends above the first or second apron.
But on top of that, teams that exceed these aprons will also face some severe restrictions on roster construction. Thus, we’re hearing about a de facto hard cap on the second apron, as second apron penalties could see repeat offenders suffer years of competition.
What is the second apron number in 2024-25?
For the upcoming campaign, teams that spend more than $188.931 million will officially be subject to second apron penalties, as they will exceed the spending cap by approximately 134.4%.
In 2023-24, the Clippers, Warriors, Suns, Bucks, Celtics, and Bucks could all be considered second-tier teams.
What are the penalties for second apron?
Obviously, teams crossing the second apron will face more penalties than those crossing the first apron.
The first-apron penalties prevent teams from signing players who were bought out and were earning more than the mid-level non-taxpayer exception — which is expected to be close to $12.8 million for the upcoming campaign — before being waived.
They will also not be able to bring in more salaries than they send in any trade, and will also be prevented from using trade exceptions created in the previous campaign.
Then, those who also pass the second apron will face all of these restrictions and more. They will not be able to use their mid-level exceptions, sign and trade their players for other players, or even trade multiple players in the same transaction.
If that wasn’t enough, those who cross the second-round pick by the end of the regular season won’t be able to trade their first-round picks for seven years in the future. The only way to avoid this restriction is to avoid reaching the second-round pick in at least three of the next four seasons.
This is a way to prevent teams from piling up huge contracts and creating super teams. While some may not like this because it means their championships will be shorter, it is expected to help keep the league balanced, which is always a good thing.
