Although a number of big-money free agent contracts were completed earlier this summer, many of the most lucrative deals signed by players so far in 2025/26 have been contract extensions. And several of those extensions have been maximum-salary deals.
[RELATED: 2025/26 NBA Contract Extension Tracker]
Because those extensions won’t go into effect until at least the 2026/27 season and the NBA won’t finalize its ’26/27 salary cap until next summer, we can only ballpark what many of year’s maximum-salary contracts will look like based on the league’s latest cap estimates.
The NBA’s most recent projection for ’26/27 called for a 7% increase rather than the maximum allowable 10%. That would work out to $165,472,000, which is the number we’ll use to project next season’s maximum salaries.
Listed below are the early maximum-salary projections for 2026/27. The first chart shows the maximum salaries for a player re-signing with his own team — a player’s previous club can offer five years instead of four, and 8% annual raises instead of 5% raises. The second chart shows the maximum salaries for a player signing with a new team.
A player’s maximum salary is generally determined by his years of NBA experience, so there’s a wide gap between potential earnings for younger and older players. Unless they qualify for a more lucrative extension by meeting certain performance criteria, players with no more than six years of NBA experience are limited to a starting salary worth up to 25% of the cap. For players with seven to nine years of experience, that number is 30%. For players with 10 or more years of experience, it’s 35%.
Here are the the early max-salary projections for 2026/27:
A player re-signing with his own team (8% annual raises, up to five years):
| Year | 6 years or less | 7-9 years | 10+ years |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026/27 | $41,368,000 | $49,641,600 | $57,915,200 |
| 2027/28 | $44,677,440 | $53,612,928 | $62,548,416 |
| 2028/29 | $47,986,880 | $57,584,256 | $67,181,632 |
| 2029/30 | $51,296,320 | $61,555,584 | $71,814,848 |
| 2030/31 | $54,605,760 | $65,526,912 | $76,448,064 |
| Total | $239,934,400 | $287,921,280 | $335,908,160 |
The “6 years or less” column here is what Chet Holmgren‘s extension with the Thunder will look like. Paolo Banchero and Holmgren’s teammate Jalen Williams have Rose Rule language in their contracts, so their deals would be the same as Holmgren’s if they don’t make an All-NBA team or win MVP or Defensive Player of the Year, but they could move up to the 30% max column (“7-9 years”) if certain performance criteria are met.
De’Aaron Fox‘s new extension with the Spurs falls under the “7-9 years” column here, though Fox’s deal is for four years, not five. Without that $65MM+ salary in 2030/31, Fox projects to earn about $222.4MM on his four-year contract.
The 30% max column will also apply to players who reach the free agent market next summer with between seven and nine years of NBA experience under their belts. That would be Trae Young‘s maximum contract with the Hawks if he becomes a free agent next summer, for instance.
The third column (35%) would apply to a player who reaches free agency next summer with 10+ years of NBA service, such as LeBron James or James Harden, though neither of them could sign a four- or five-year contract due to the Over-38 rule.
A player signing with a new team (5% annual raises, up to four years):
| Year | 6 years or less | 7-9 years | 10+ years |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026/27 | $41,368,000 | $49,641,600 | $57,915,200 |
| 2027/28 | $43,436,400 | $52,123,680 | $60,810,960 |
| 2028/29 | $45,504,800 | $54,605,760 | $63,706,720 |
| 2029/30 | $47,573,200 | $57,087,840 | $66,602,480 |
| Total | $177,882,400 | $213,458,880 | $249,035,360 |
If a player changes teams as a free agent, he doesn’t have access to a fifth year or 8% raises. So if someone like Austin Reaves were to sign with a new team next summer, his maximum contract would be a four-year deal projected to be worth nearly $178MM.
If a veteran free agent with between seven and nine years of NBA experience – such as Young – wants to change teams in 2025, he would be able to sign a four-year contract worth up to a projected $213MM+.
A veteran with 10+ years of experience would be able to earn up to $249MM across four years if he changes teams as a free agent in 2026. Although it happened with Paul George during the 2024 offseason, it’s relatively rare for a player with that many years of experience to sign a four-year, maximum-salary contract with a new team, especially since many of those older stars are subject to the Over-38 rule.
