The NBA is starting to involve staggering amounts of money. In recent years, players have managed to secure huge lucrative contracts that see them receiving hundreds of millions in just a few years. Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry is currently the highest-paid player in the league after he signed a contract worth $215 million. With that, the Warriors have the highest salary payroll of all NBA teams.
The 2023-24 NBA salary cap is expected to be $134M ($10.4M higher than this upcoming season), with a projected $162M tax level, per @ShamsCharania pic.twitter.com/5wlwjG6DPr
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) September 9, 2022
The salary cap does not seem to limit the salary expenditure for teams. Hence, Adam Silver and the NBA have decided to explore the possibility of implementing a higher salary cap. This will prevent the teams from overspending. Earlier this year, the NBA announced that there would be a more than 8% increase in the salary cap for the 2022-23 NBA season.
Sources: NBA pursuing upper spending limit in a new agreement with NBPA – via @ESPN App https://t.co/GGxe65UQ4t
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) October 28, 2022
However, things have taken a turn now as well. According to ESPN, the NBA is looking to increase the salary cap once again. The reports mention that The Association has come up with a new proposal. It included a higher and harder limit on the salaries paid to players and the removal of the luxury tax.
What is the NBA salary cap and how is it calculated?
As we all know, the NBA has a salary cap that is the limit that prevents teams from overspending on player salaries. Moreover, the revenue the league generates every season will be a determinant to decide the salary cap. In addition to the salary cap, the teams also have to follow the luxury tax rule. For every dollar they spend over the limit, they would have to pay a luxury tax for that. This also depends on the soft and hard cap.
The soft cap allows teams to exceed the limit and the franchises will have to pay the luxury tax. On the other hand, NBA teams are completely forbidden to exceed the hard cap.
The NBA and NBPA will decide if the implementation of a higher cap will go ahead before December 15, as the current CBA only runs till the end of the 2023-24 NBA season.
The higher limit may mean that the bigger franchises, or the more financially sound, will spend even more than they have been already. However, the league believes that the increased cap will generate more revenue for them. It will be a while till all concerned parties come to the most appropriate decision that is beneficial for all of them.