This is one of the interesting parts of the NBA’s salary cap that I discussed before.
In brief, the exception allows a team to go above and beyond the salary cap in order a
re-sign a free agent. The amount of the contract cannot exceed the maximum salary. The contract signed cannot be for more than 6 years. The maximum raise that a player can receive is 10.5% above the salary in the first season of the contract.
The exception is named after Larry Bird because it came into effect when the Boston Celtics tried to exceed the salary cap in order to resign the great Larry Bird. The exception is in the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement under the Veteran Free Agent exception. Free agents who qualify for the exception are listed under “qualifying veteran free agents” or “Bird Free Agents.”
In order to qualify for the exception, a player must:
- Have played in the NBA for 3+ seasons.
- Have not been waived during that time.
- Have not changed teams as a free agent.
- Have not been renounced (would have to wait a year to re-sign under Bird exception).
Caveat: If player is traded, Bird rights are traded with the player, and the new team can re-sign player under Bird exception.
Lots of more NBA salary cap issues to tackle in the future. I do not want to overload readers with too much information in a single day. On weak news days, I will add to this discussion.
[tags]larry bird, nba, basketball, cba[/tags]
