Cap Holds

Cap Holds are uniquely NBA.

A cap hold is a placeholder amount that an NBA team must keep on their books for a player’s rights, even if the player is not currently under contract.

It exists to prevent teams from spending all their cap space and then re-signing their own free agents using bird rights or other exceptions, which would essentially be a cap manipulation loophole.

Cap holds exist until:

The player is re-signed
The team renounces their rights
The player signs with another team

How Cap Holds Apply In Different Leagues

🏀NBA

Cap holds are standard protocol in NBA offseason planning. Every pending free agent who hasn’t been renounced will sit on the team’s books at a predetermined cap figure.

Use Cases

Applies to free agents with Bird, Early Bird, or Non-Bird rights.
Keeps teams from exploiting over-cap re-signing rules.
The size of a cap hold depends on years of service, previous salary, and contract type.

Common situations

Teams with cap space must renounce rights to clear holds.
Cap holds also apply to rookie draft picks until they’re signed.

Example

The Los Angeles Lakers had a $20M+ cap hold for D’Angelo Russell in 2023.

They had to decide whether to re-sign him, renounce his rights to open cap space for other targets, or sign other players first and circle back.

It’s not about what the player made last year, it’s about what the CBA mandates as a placeholder.

Another example

Zion Williamson had a cap hold worth 300% of his prior salary before signing his rookie max extension.

🏈NFL / ⚾MLB / 🏒NHL / ⚽Soccer /🥊UFC

❌ Cap holds do not exist in these leagues.

The NFL has a hard cap with no concept of holds and only actual contracts count.
MLB has no salary cap, and contracts are fully guaranteed once signed.
The NHL uses roster limits and qualifying offers for restricted players, but not cap holds.
Cap Holds don’t exist in MLS or global soccer. Clubs operate under roster charges rather than placeholder cap amounts. Player budgets are controlled through mechanisms like Designated Players, and salary budget charges, not cap tracking tools like in the NBA.
UFC and other combat sports operate via event-based payouts so there is no need for cap tracking.

Cap Holds are unique to the NBA.

Why Cap Holds Matter

Cap holds protect the spirit of the cap system.

Without them, teams could theoretically

Use all their cap space on outside signings.
Then use Bird Rights to bring back their own players.
Resulting in them being way over the cap.

Cap holds

Force front offices to make decisions.
Encourage smart timing of signings.
Ensure roster spots and financial slots are accounted for.

For Fans

cap holds are why your favorite team might not be “under the cap” even if they only have 5 players under contract.

For players

it’s a strategic piece of leverage, especially when trying to force a team’s hand in negotiations.

🔗Related Terms

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Cap Holds

How Cap Holds Apply In Different Leagues