The NBA salary cap climbs every season, as new money comes in via broadcasting rights deals and to match inflation. However, recent seasons have seen modest gains that came in lower than expected. The new TV deal was expected to bring annual raises of around 10%, but the reality has been closer to 6%.
This is because of the trouble surrounding local broadcasting channels and deals. Local stations — like the Lakers’ Spectrum SportsNet — have been under the microscope for their struggles for years now across all sports. But in the first bit of very good salary cap news, it appears the 2027-28 season will have a rise close to that 10%, according to Fred Katz and John Hollinger of The Athletic:
The NBA recently informed teams of its updated salary-cap projections for the 2027-28 season, league sources told The Athletic, with the new projections coming in $2 million higher than the league’s previous numbers.
Those sources, speaking on condition of anonymity because the projections have not been made public, said the league is now projecting the 2027-28 salary cap will rise to $176 million and the luxury tax line will be $213 million.
This is great news for the entire league, who had been anticipating another rise in the 5.5% range. But this will allow teams a little bit of flexibility and wiggle room under the cap, the luxury tax threshold and both aprons, which is a win both financially and with regard to team-building.
Every dollar matters when it comes to the tax and the aprons, as the penalties with both are more punitive than they have ever been, and next season remains under the current collective bargaining agreement.
How higher 2027-28 NBA salary cap projection could impact Lakers
The Lakers getting an extra $2 million in space could be massive for next season. It was clear in the way the team planned their roster overhaul in 2026 that they want space to add a player via the full non-taxpayer mid-level exception next summer, and maybe even have access to the bi-annual exception. It was iffy whether or not they had succeeded in having the full use of both, but this projection is massive towards that goal.
Having full access to both means the Lakers could add a player, or two, with around a $16 million annual salary next season — current projection is $16.051 million — and another making just under $6 million. This would give the Lakers a good chance at both retaining some of their pending free agents or adding more impact players.
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