Triggering UFA Status

Finishing a Contract

If a Player is in the final Season of his Contract and he is not subject to Restricted Free Agency, then he becomes a UFA as of July 1st following his final Season.

Other UFA Methods

Other than finishing an existing Contract, a Player may become a UFA in other ways, including:

1. A Prior Team’s right to match (“ROFR Rights”) are relinquished during Restricted Free Agency;
2. Player clears Waivers;
3. Draft Rights are relinquished;
4. Player is undrafted.

Key Dates

Signing Dates

While a Player becomes a UFA on July 1st, he cannot sign a Contract until after the July Moratorium.

Negotiation Dates

A UFA can negotiate with his Prior Team (if he finished the Season on the Team’s Roster) after the NBA Finals.  

A UFA can negotiate with any other Team beginning on 6:00 P.M. Eastern on June 30th before he becomes a UFA on July 1st.  

Methods of Signing a UFA

Team’s Capable of Signing UFA

While a UFA is free to sign with any Team, each Team is limited by its current financial situation.

Teams can sign a UFA using the following methods:

1. Cap Space;
2. Salary Cap Exception available to Sign UFA:
   • NTMLE ($14,104,000);
   • TMLE ($5,685,000);
   • Room MLE ($8,781,000);
   • BAE ($5,134,000);
   • Minimum Exception ($1,272,870 to $3,624,153);
3. Sign-and-Trade;
4. Bird Rights for Prior Team only (if applicable).

If a Player is valued above the NTMLE amount, then his only options are signing with to a Team with sufficient Cap Space or signing with his Prior Team if they have Bird Rights either to stay with his Prior Team or via Sign-and-Trade to a new Team.

Contract Limitations to UFA

A UFA is also limited as to the Contract terms he can sign with any Team.

Those limitations are contained within the rules for each Contract Type, as well as general Contract Limitations applied universally for Salary, Term Length and increase/decrease limitations.