The NBA’s minimum salary is one of several key financial figures that adjusts annually in direct correlation with changes to the league’s salary cap.
Essentially, when the salary cap increases or decreases from one season to the next, the minimum salary moves in tandem by the same percentage. For instance, if the salary cap grows by 5%, the minimum salary for players will also rise by 5%.
While the exact minimum salaries for the 2026/27 season have not yet been officially announced, we can make an informed estimate based on the NBA’s most recent salary cap projection.
The league currently forecasts a 7% increase in the salary cap for the 2026/27 season, which would raise the cap to approximately $165,472,000. This figure serves as the basis for projecting the minimum salaries players might earn during that season.
It’s important to understand that a player’s minimum salary is not a fixed amount but varies depending on how many years of NBA experience the player has accumulated.
Veterans with 10 or more seasons in the league are entitled to a substantially higher minimum salary compared to rookies or those with fewer years of experience.
Based on the current cap projection of $165.5 million, next season’s rookie minimum salary is expected to exceed $1.36 million. Meanwhile, a veteran player with over ten years of experience could see a minimum salary approaching $3.9 million.
Here is the projected minimum salary scale for the 2026/27 season, assuming a salary cap of $165,472,000:
- Rookie (0 years): $1,361,971
- 1 year experience: $2,191,889
- 2 years experience: $2,457,013
- 3 years experience: $2,545,391
- 4 years experience: $2,633,765
- 5 years experience: $2,854,703
- 6 years experience: $3,075,647
- 7 years experience: $3,296,585
- 8 years experience: $3,517,528
- 9 years experience: $3,535,038
- 10+ years experience: $3,888,544
It should be noted that these projections apply primarily to players signing new contracts at the minimum salary level for the 2026/27 season. Players who are already on multi-year minimum salary contracts may have slightly different salary figures.
For example, a rookie who signed a two-year minimum deal before the 2025/26 season would have a second-year salary of approximately $2,150,917 for the 2026/27 season, as detailed in previous analyses.
These salary estimates are subject to change if the NBA revises its salary cap projection later in the year. We will provide updated projections once the league finalizes the official salary cap figures for the 2026/27 season.
Early NBA Minimum Salary Projections For 2026/27 https://t.co/p71pE5T7jK pic.twitter.com/9Ohsf36plO
— Hoops Rumors (@HoopsRumors) August 8, 2025
