The Mid-Level Exception

The NBA's salary cap limits the amount a team can spend on player contracts. It is a set amount based upon a percentage (48%) of league revenue (called BRI=basketball-related income). Teams under the cap figure can spend at will up to this amount. Teams over the cap number can (in most cases) exceed the cap to re-sign their own free agents, but are heavily restricted when it comes to signing other free agents. Teams over the cap have only three options when it comes to signing free agents. The Mid-Level Exception is one of these, the other 2 being the $1 Million Exception and the Minimum Salary Exception (also called Veteran's Minimum). The Mid-Level exception is available for every team to use each year. It will be in the 5 million dollar range for 2004-05 season and can be used for contracts up to six years in length. It can also be split multiple times to sign multiple players.