The NBA on Friday dismissed the idea that the second tax apron has had a detrimental effect on the league’s middle class, issuing a statement on social media to dispute the claim. This statement (via Twitter) reads as follows:
“Recent reports have claimed that the second apron hurts the ‘lower’ and ‘middle’ players. This is not true. Since the implementation of the second apron, the number of players on the team has remained the same and annual salaries have increased by almost $1.3 billion, resulting in an increase of about 30% in payment for all classes of players.”
The league’s statement appears to be in response to comments made this week by veteran guards Bruce Brownwho is in the camp with Nix on unguaranteed Exhibition 9 contract. Talking to journalists, including Ian Begley of SNY.tvBrown expressed surprise that he couldn’t secure a guaranteed deal after playing a significant role on the Nuggets bench last season and suggested that the CBA and the second apron were to blame.
“The new CBA is good for certain players, isn’t it? Max guys, top free agents and maybe expansion starters.” – said Brown. “But other than that, like the middle guys, it kind of sucks for us. As you can see, not a lot of people get that full middle-level (exemption) anymore — or even the middle-level tax (exemption). It’s tough, but it is what it is. So every time you’re out there, you just have to play your best and hope for the best.”
While the roster restrictions included in the league’s most recent Collective Bargaining Agreement certainly limited some teams’ spending to some extent, overall player salaries continued to grow at roughly the same rate as the salary cap, and the NBA’s “middle class” wasn’t the only group affected by the club’s changing spending habits.
A player like the Pistons center Jalen Durenfor example, would likely have been a lock for a max contract starting at 25% of the cap in the old CBA after he made the All-NBA team at age 22, but he ended up getting a five-year, $200 million deal that’s about $8 million per year below the 25% cap (and about $17 million per year below the 30% cap he was eligible for, when satisfied The rule of roses criteria).
ESPN’s Bobby Marks released data last summer showing that wages for the so-called middle class continued to rise during the last CBA, a point reiterated by both commissioners Adam Silver and past president of the NBPA CJ McCollum at that time.
So far in the 2026/27 league yearThe 17 players who were signed using some form of the mid-level exception have agreed to a 2026/27 salary of at least $6 million, including four who will make $14 million or more. In comparison, in 2023/24before the new penalties went into effect, 10 players signed using the mid-level exception were making at least $5 million, which was the taxpayer MLE amount at the time, and only three of those players had $9 million+ in salary.
Brown’s former team, the Nuggets, are the only NBA team currently operating in the second tax haven. Denver added to its roster this offseason with a signing Marvin Bagley III, DeMar DeRozan, Tyus Jonesand Alpha Dial to contracts with guaranteed minimum salaries, but did not work out a new deal with Brown.
