Second Apron

Topic

The second apron is a highly restrictive financial threshold in the National Basketball Association's (NBA) collective bargaining agreement (CBA) designed to curb excessive spending by high-payroll franchises. Introduced in the 2023 CBA, crossing this limit triggers severe penalties, including the loss of mid-level exceptions, restrictions on aggregating salaries in trades, and the potential freezing and demotion of future first-round draft picks. It effectively functions as a hard salary cap, significantly impacting how front offices construct and maintain championship-caliber rosters.