After signing a five-year supermax extension with the Boston Celtics in the summer of 2023, Jaylen Brown has become the league’s first $300 million player and is now associated with the elite club of players who earn more than $40 million per season.
However, this extensive contract is a mere exception as most NBA players get a salary far below that, with many players playing under a ‘minimum contract.’
In general, any team that has spent the entirety of its cap space and doesn’t have any of its mid-level exceptions available has the ability to sign a player to a minimum-salary contract. A team below the hard cap can sign a player to a minimum contract for the duration of at most two years. In rare cases, teams with caps and exceptions available can offer minimum contracts that last up to 5 years.
The minimum level of salary mentioned in an individual’s contract is determined by the level of experience a player possesses. Each season of NBA played by these players adds to their minimum contract value, thus making it more worthwhile for the veterans.
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What is the minimum NBA salary for 2023-24?
- For 0 years of experience, the base salary is $1,119,563.
- For 1 year of experience, the base salary is $1,801,769.
- For 2 years of experience, the base salary is $2,019,706.
- For 3 years of experience, the base salary is $2,092,354.
- For 4 years of experience, the base salary is $2,165,000.
- For 5 years of experience, the base salary is $2,346,614.
- For 6 years of experience, the base salary is $2,528,233.
- For 7 years of experience, the base salary is $2,709,849.
- For 8 years of experience, the base salary is $2,891,467.
- For 9 years of experience, the base salary is $2,905,861.
- For 10+ years of experience, the base salary is $3,196,448.
The aforementioned salaries are used as base value by the players who sign multi-year minimum contracts and are eligible for a five percent raise in each year of the contract.
The base minimum NBA salary goes up each year with the same percentage increase as that of the NBA salary cap, so a player signing a new minimum contract next season will be able to get a salary increase of larger than five percent.
The other advantage of using one-year minimum contracts for the participating teams is that the NBA will negate some part of the costs of contracts for veterans with at least three years of experience.
That is why, to motivate teams to continue signing veterans instead of younger and cheaper rookies, the league compensates the teams for the cost of any salary ‘over the two-year’ veteran threshold for players with at least three years of experience.
The full amount of salary will still count against a team’s salary cap, but the teams will have the ability to pay $2,019,706, while the rest is covered by the NBA.
