The NBA’s most wage is set by a participant’s years of NBA expertise. Gamers with between zero and 6 seasons beneath their belts are eligible for a beginning wage value as much as 25% of the wage cap. That determine will increase to 30% for gamers with seven to 9 years of NBA expertise, and to 35% for gamers with 10+ years of service.
Nevertheless, there are particular situations during which a participant can obtain the next most wage than his years of service dictate. When a participant who would usually qualify for the 30% max turns into eligible for a beginning wage value as much as 35% of the cap earlier than he beneficial properties 10+ years of NBA expertise, he can signal a Designated Veteran contract, also called a “super-max” deal.
A participant who has seven or eight years of NBA service with one or two years left on his contract turns into eligible for a Designated Veteran contract extension if he meets the required efficiency standards. A Designated Veteran contract may also be signed by a participant who’s a free agent if he has eight or 9 years of service and meets the required efficiency standards.
Nevertheless, a participant can’t signal a Designated Veteran cope with a brand new workforce — solely his present workforce. Moreover, if he has been traded at any time since his first 4 years within the NBA or beforehand modified groups by way of free company at any level in his profession, he turns into ineligible for such a deal.
Which means gamers like Donovan Mitchell, Lauri Markkanen, and Jalen Brunson would have had no path to changing into eligible for Designated Veteran offers with their present groups, however Brandon Ingram (who was traded throughout his first 4 seasons) might turn out to be eligible if he stays with the Pelicans and meets the efficiency standards.
Talking of that efficiency standards, right here’s what it seems like. Not less than one of many following should be a real for a participant to be eligible to signal a Designated Veteran contract:
- He was named to an All-NBA workforce in the newest season, or in two of the final three seasons.
- He was named NBA MVP in any of the three most up-to-date seasons.
- He was named NBA Defensive Participant of the Yr in the newest season, or in two of the final three seasons.
Given the exclusivity of the MVP and Defensive Participant of the Yr awards, gamers who qualify for a Designated Veteran contract accomplish that most frequently by incomes All-NBA nods.
Celtics ahead Jayson Tatum was the one participant eligible to signal a Designated Veteran contract this offseason. Tatum truly met the efficiency standards a 12 months in the past by making his second consecutive All-NBA workforce, however he solely had six years of NBA service on the time. He was capable of signal his super-max extension this offseason as soon as he registered his seventh 12 months of service.
Tatum was named an All-NBA first-teamer once more in 2024, however would have been eligible even when he’d missed out on an All-NBA spot this 12 months, since his nods in 2022 and 2023 ensured he’d made an All-NBA workforce in at the very least two of the previous three seasons.
Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Mavericks guard Luka Doncic are following in Tatum’s footsteps. Each gamers have made All-NBA groups in every of the previous two seasons however nonetheless have simply six years of service beneath their belts. They’ll meet the service time standards subsequent summer time and will probably be eligible to signal Designated Veteran contract extensions in July 2025 whether or not or not they earn All-NBA honors in 2024/25.
As outlined above, if the Thunder had been to commerce Gilgeous-Alexander or the Mavericks had been to commerce Doncic, they might not be super-max eligible. However clearly these 2024 MVP finalists aren’t going wherever within the subsequent 12 months.
Whereas the Designated Veteran rule permits gamers with fewer than 10 years of NBA expertise to qualify for contracts that start at 35% of the cap as a substitute of 30%, the “Rose Rule” permits gamers with fewer than seven years of service to qualify for contracts that start at 30% of the cap as a substitute of 25%.
These are technically two separate guidelines, and we’ve mentioned the Rose Rule at higher size in a separate glossary entry. Nevertheless, they’re carefully linked, and each sorts of contracts are generally referred to a “super-max” offers.
Listed here are just a few different guidelines associated to Designated Veteran contracts:
- Even when a participant qualifies for a Designated Veteran contract, his workforce isn’t obligated to start out its extension supply at 35% of the cap. The participant is eligible for a wage as much as that quantity, however the actual quantity continues to be a matter for the 2 sides to barter. For instance, after changing into super-max eligible in 2020, Rudy Gobert signed a contract with the Jazz that started at simply over 31% of the cap.
- A Designated Veteran extension can’t exceed six years, together with the variety of years left on the participant’s contract. So if a participant indicators a Designated Veteran extension when he has two years left on his present contract, he might tack on 4 new years to that deal.
- A participant signing a Designated Veteran contract as a free agent can’t signal for greater than 5 years.
- A Designated Veteran extension can solely be signed between the tip of the July moratorium and the final day earlier than the beginning of the common season.
- If a participant indicators a Designated Veteran contract, he’s ineligible to be traded for one 12 months.
- Underneath the 2017 Collective Bargaining Settlement, a workforce wasn’t permitted to hold greater than two gamers on Designated Veteran contracts at a time. Nevertheless, that rule didn’t carry over to the 2023 CBA and that restrict not applies.
Our checklist of the gamers who’ve signed Designated Veteran contracts since their inception in 2017 may be discovered proper right here.
Word: It is a Hoops Rumors Glossary entry. Our glossary posts will clarify particular guidelines referring to trades, free company, or different facets of the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Settlement. Larry Coon’s Wage Cap FAQ was used within the creation of this submit.
Earlier variations of this glossary entry had been printed in 2018 and 2023.
