For just the second time since the NBA adopted a salary cap in 1984-85, the cap will decline from the previous year. David Stern first hinted at the possibility during the All-Star break, and the league officially confirmed the news late Tuesday night. According to the official release: "the Salary Cap for the 2009-10 season will be $57.7 million. The tax level for the 2009-10 season has been set at $69.92 million." For those scoring at home, that's down from $58.68 million and $71.15 million, respectively, in 2008-09.
That's a difference of a little more than a million, which may not seem like much unless you're a fringe NBA player hoping to land a job for the league minimum.
While many teams have signed 14 or 15 players to guaranteed contracts, my guess is that we'll see more teams opt for a 13-man roster. For all the free agents hustling for a job this week in the Orlando Pro Summer League and next week in the Vegas Summer League, that's awfully depressing news.
It's not all that surprising to see the NBA forced to tighten its purse strings, but it's worth noting that even in this notoriously difficult economy, all isn't lost: league revenues actually climbed 2.5% this past season; the reason the cap declined is because of the formula used in the CBA.
Also of note: the league's mid-level exception is now worth $5.854 million; when you factor in the annual 8 percent raises allowed under the CBA, a player receiving the MLE for the full five years will make slightly more than $33.9 million over the life of his contract, or nearly $6.8 million a year.
