What is rookie scale?
The rookie scale is the fixed salary schedule for NBA first-round picks, one amount for each draft slot from No. 1 to No. 30. It is tied to the cap, and teams can sign their picks for 80% to 120% of the slot amount.
How it works
Every first-round contract runs four years. The first two are guaranteed; years three and four are team options the club decides on in advance.
Almost every first-round pick signs at 120% of scale, and an unsigned first-rounder carries a cap hold at 120% until he signs. Second-round picks have no scale; most sign minimum or two-way contracts.
After year three, a player can sign a rookie-scale extension. If he reaches the end of year four without one, his team can make him a restricted free agent by extending a qualifying offer.
The numbers
At 120% of scale
2026-27
At 120% of scale
An example
For 2026-27, the No. 1 pick’s four-year deal is worth more than $65 million, per Sportico, while No. 15 is about $24.1 million and No. 30 about $15 million. Draft position sets a player’s first four years of pay almost exactly.
What it means for a player
A rookie-scale deal leaves little to negotiate in year one. The real negotiation comes with the extension, so the first three seasons are the case you are building for it.
Sources
- Sportico: 2026 NBA Draft contract values
- Hoops Rumors: Salary cap, tax line set for 2026/27
- NBPA: NBA collective bargaining agreement
Reviewed September 26, 2026 by McKinley Malbrough III, J.D., MS-HRM, certified WNBA player agent and former certified NBA agent. Figures are refreshed each July. General information, not legal, tax or financial advice.