The NBA G League and the Next Gen Basketball Players Union (NGBPU) have officially announced their Collective Bargaining Agreement. ESPN’s Tim Bontemps reported earlier this month that the two sides had agreed to terms on the NBAGL’s first CBA since the NGBPU was formed in 2020.
The new CBA will cover a four-year term, beginning immediately and running through the 2028/29 season. The G League and the union will each have the ability to end the agreement a year early (ie. after the ’27/28 season) by exercising an opt-out clause on or before October 1, 2027.
Here are several of the rules that were collectively bargained by the league and the players’ union:
- The standard G League player salary will increase to $45K for 2025/26 (up 4.7% from the previous base salary) and will rise by 3% annually in subsequent seasons.
- A player who spends the entire season on a G League roster and doesn’t receive compensation from an NBA team (via an Exhibit 10 bonus or a partial/full salary) will receive an additional $5K in 2025/26. That amount, known as the “enhanced minimum salary payment,” will increase by 3% per year.
- NBA teams will now be permitted to designate a maximum of five affiliate players per season instead of four.
- Beginning in 2026/27, if a player has at least three years of NBA or G League experience, a team will only be able to control his returning rights for one year following his latest stint in the league. Previously, that term was two years.
- Beginning in 2026/27, the buyout amount for a player who has at least five years of NBA or G League experience will be reduced from $50K to $30K. That’s the amount that must be paid to the league if a player wants to terminate his G League contract early.
All of the key points of the new CBA for G League players can be found right here.
Silver is destroying the NBA, there’s a good chance it could go bankrupt in 10 yrs