A 10-day deal allows a club to temporarily add a player to its 15-man roster without any commitments beyond those 10 days. January 5 is when teams can start signing players to typical 10-day contracts, but 10-day deals using the hardship exception can be signed at any time during the season.
Late in the regular season is typically when we see the highest volume of players signing 10-day contracts. There are a number of seasons for that, but it often involves some combination of the following: teams looking to maximize roster and financial flexibility; evaluating young players and/or veterans for back-end roster spots; and clubs hit hard by injuries who need temporary replacements.
As our tracker shows, there are currently nine players on active 10-day contracts around the the NBA.
- Charles Bassey, Boston Celtics
- Malachi Smith, Brooklyn Nets
- Omer Yurtseven, Golden State Warriors
- Tyler Burton, Memphis Grizzlies
- DeJon Jarreau, Memphis Grizzlies
- DaQuan Jeffries, Sacramento Kings
- Markelle Fultz, Toronto Raptors
- Kennedy Chandler, Utah Jazz
- Bez Mbeng, Utah Jazz
Six of those nine players (Bassey, Smith, Yurtseven, Burton, Jarreau and Mbeng) are on their second 10-day deals with their respective teams. Each of those clubs will have to decide at the expiration of the 10-day agreement whether it wants to re-sign those players to rest-of-season or multiyear deals or let them walk.
While a 10-day contract is a form of standard contract, there are some differences between the two. For example, players on expiring standard contracts don’t become free agents until June 30, but 10-day players immediately become unrestricted free agents when their contracts end.
Teams have the right to terminate 10-day contracts early to accommodate another roster move, and that does happen occasionally — Utah ended Mo Bamba‘s second 10-day deal early a couple weeks ago due to an illness.
You can read more details about 10-day contracts in our glossary entry, while the the salary breakdown for 10-day deals in 2025/26 can be found right here.