What is second apron?
The second apron is the NBA’s strictest payroll line. For 2026-27 it is $221,686,000. Teams above it lose the mid-level exception entirely and face the tightest trade limits in the league.
How it works
A team above the second apron cannot use any mid-level exception, cannot aggregate two or more player salaries to match a trade, cannot send cash in a trade and cannot use a signed-and-traded player’s salary to take back salary.
The penalties reach into the draft. A team above the second apron has its first-round pick seven years out frozen, meaning it cannot be traded. A team that stays above it repeatedly can see that pick moved to the end of the first round.
Using any portion of the mid-level also hard-caps a team at the second apron, so a team near the line must choose between adding a player and keeping its flexibility.
The numbers
The hardest line
Gap between aprons
Cap to second apron
An example
A team at $225 million wants to trade two rotation players earning $9 million each for one $18 million player. Above the second apron it cannot combine the two salaries, so that trade is not allowed as built.
What it means for a player
Second-apron pressure is why strong teams break up. A player on such a roster should expect trade rumors every deadline, because shedding salary is often the only way the team can reopen its options.
Sources
- Hoops Rumors: Salary cap, tax line set for 2026/27
- Hoops Rumors: NBA teams with hard caps 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.