THE NBA salary cap for 2022-23 is up by $11.6 million per team to $123.6 million, ESPN reported on Wednesday.
The NBA league year kicks off Friday (July 1) with unrestricted free agency.
In the past 10 years, the salary cap in the NBA has increased more than 80%.
In 2021-22, teams had a salary cap of $112,414,000 (up from $109 million the previous year), benefiting from the new digital rights agreements and broadcast rights expansion the NBA included in its most recent Collective Bargaining Agreement.
The increase will impact the formula used to calculate max-level contracts in free agency. For example, Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal is likely to be eligible for a five-year max worth $251 million instead of the anticipated $247.6 million.
Even with the increase, many contenders, including the NBA champion Golden State Warriors, are well over the 2022-23 salary cap number and deep into luxury tax territory.
Golden State’s payroll last season was $171 million. — Reuters