The NBA's Designated Veteran rule, as we explain in our glossary entry on the subject, allows players to qualify for a maximum salary worth 35% of the cap before they gain the required NBA service time.
Typically, a player is ineligible to receive a maximum contract that starts at 35% of the cap until he has at least 10 years of NBA service under his belt, but the Designated Veteran rule gives a player with between seven and nine years of experience the opportunity to do so if he meets certain performance criteria. This has become colloquially known as signing a "super-max" deal.
The performance criteria are as follows (only one of the following must be true):
- The player was named to an All-NBA team and/or was named the NBA Defensive Player of the Year in the most recent season, or in two of the last three seasons.
- The player was named the NBA MVP in any of the three most recent seasons.
Since the NBA introduced the concept of the Designated Veteran contract in 2017, 14 players have signed them across nine offseasons. Reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander became the latest player to join that group this summer when he signed a four-year extension projected to be worth more than $70MM annually.
Gilgeous-Alexander will be the only player who signs a Designated Veteran contract this offseason, but it's worth taking a peek down the road to see which players have a chance to join the list of super-max recipients in 2026.
Here are some players to watch during the 2025/26 season:
