What is sign-and-trade?
A sign-and-trade is a transaction in which a team re-signs its own free agent and immediately trades him. It lets a player join a team that lacks the cap room to sign him outright.
How it works
The original team uses its Bird rights to sign the player, then trades the new contract to the destination team as part of a trade that meets the salary-matching rules.
The contract must run at least three seasons. The team receiving the player becomes hard-capped at the first apron, $209,015,000 in 2026-27, and a team already above the first apron cannot acquire a player this way.
Sign-and-trades usually happen when the player has chosen a new team and the old team wants something back instead of losing him for nothing.
The numbers
Of the new contract
First apron
To acquire
An example
A free agent wants to join a team with no cap room. His old team signs him for three years and trades him there for a future pick, and the receiving team accepts a hard cap for the season.
What it means for a player
A sign-and-trade can open a destination that looked closed. It also means both teams must agree, so the old team gains leverage over where you go.
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.