NBA confirms salary cap, luxury tax for 2014-15; in line with expectations
The NBA officially announced the salary cap, luxury tax and salary floor levels for the 2014-15 season on Wednesday, crucial numbers ahead of the midnight ending of the July moratorium.
The numbers come in more or line with expectations, though they are a hair below where some anticipated.
RT @NBAPR NBA Salary Cap for 2014-15 season jumps to $63.065 million. Tax level is $76.829 million. Minimum team salary is $56.759 million.
— Joe Freeman (@BlazerFreeman) July 9, 2014
The salary cap number of $63.065 million is about $130,000 below the initial projections. That difference is unlikely to make waves for teams at the cap level.
Where the impact may be felt more is at the luxury tax level, where the number is about $170,000 below projections. That means the "hard" tax apron for teams that use the full mid-level exception (like the Miami Heat), is $80.829 million instead of the assumed $81 million. Again, a small difference, but notable.
The figures also mean that the mid-level exception is $5.305 million, as expected, the mid-level for taxpaying teams is $3.278 million, and the room exception if $2.732 million.
The lower cap figure also slightly lowers the maximum contracts available to free agents, which are determined based on a percentage of the cap, depending on service time in the league.