As we detailed this week in an updated Hoops Rumors Glossary entry, a player who doesn't qualify for Bird rights and Early Bird rights at the end of an NBA season almost always qualifies for Non-Bird rights, which give teams a small amount of flexibility to re-sign that player in free agency without requiring salary cap room or another cap exception.
Teams can sign their own free agents using the Non-Bird exception for a salary starting at 120% of the player’s previous salary, 120% of the minimum salary, or the amount of a qualifying offer (if the player is a restricted free agent), whichever is greatest. Contracts can be for up to four years, with 5% annual raises.
In some cases, that's more than enough for a team to work with. For instance, if the Spurs decide they want to re-sign center Mason Plumlee, the fact that they'll only have his Non-Bird rights won't be an impediment. Plumlee almost certainly won't be making more than 120% of his minimum in 2026/27 after signing a pair of minimum-salary deals this season.
In other cases though, like when a player on a minimum-salary contract has a breakout year, the Non-Bird exception won't be enough to make him a market-rate offer.
In the space below, we're taking a closer look at the notable 2026 free agents who will have Non-Bird rights and assessing whether or not those rights will be enough for their current teams to re-sign them.
