What is salary floor?
The salary floor is the minimum team payroll. For 2026-27 the NBA floor is $148,465,000. A team below it when the regular season starts pays the shortfall.
How it works
The floor keeps teams spending a set share of league revenue on players. It sits at 90% of the cap.
A team still under the floor at the start of the regular season pays the difference, and it is not eligible for its full share of the luxury tax distribution at season’s end.
Teams under the floor often use their room to absorb contracts in trades or give short, generous deals to reach it.
The numbers
Minimum payroll
Cap minus floor
By formula
An example
A rebuilding team sits at $140 million in August. It can take on an unwanted contract from a taxpaying team, getting draft picks for doing so and reaching the floor in the same move.
What it means for a player
Teams below the floor have room and a reason to use it. That can mean a well-paid one- or two-year deal for a veteran willing to join a rebuild.
Sources
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.