How They Were Signed: Minimum Salary Exception

As we continue to look at how teams have signed players on their roster, it is fitting on the last day that players unguaranteed salaries become guaranteed that we focus on the way most unguaranteed players were signed – the minimum salary exception.

Teams that are over the salary cap can sign a player for their allotted minimum salary for up to 2 years. Below is a player’s minimum salary dependent on how many years they have played in the NBA.  

Minimum Salary

Players with no NBA playing experience can be signed to a minimum salary deal. This is typical of second round draft picks because only first-round picks are guaranteed a rookie scale contract.

To incentivize teams to sign older players, the NBA has agreed to reimburse teams that sign a player with three or more years’ experience, with a few stipulations. The NBA will only reimburse the amount over what it would cost if that player had played in the NBA for two years and will only reimburse the team if the player was signed to a one year deal.

Below is a team by team list of players who were signed using the minimum salary exception. You can read more details on the exception here.

Because this article is posted past the 4pm deadline, all players listed below are now fully guaranteed for this season. Additionally, keep in mind the players listed below were signed under the exception. Other players may have been signed to a minimum salary contract but their team had cap space and thus didn’t need the exception to sign that player.

StorytellersContractsShamSports, and Larry Coon’s CBA FAQ’s were used in the creation of this post.

View Comments (0)