Boston Celtics

Do the Boston Celtics have the mid-level exception in 2029-30?

Season2026-27 2027-28 2028-292029-302030-31

Yes. The Celtics can offer the full non-taxpayer mid-level: up to $18.4M starting salary for 2029-30 (projected).

Full (non-taxpayer) MLE

$18.4M

Taxpayer MLE

$7.4M

Room MLE

$11.4M

The full MLE runs up to 4 years and can be split among multiple players. It is the main way over-the-cap teams add outside free agents.

The catch: using it hard-caps the Celtics at the first apron ($255.7M) for the rest of the season.

This is a forward look at 2029-30: it counts the contracts, options, and cap holds already on the Celtics books for that season. Signings, trades, and option decisions between now and then will move these numbers.

The rule behind this

The mid-level exception (MLE) is the main tool over-the-cap teams use to sign outside free agents. The full ("non-taxpayer") MLE allows a contract starting around $14M for up to four years, and can be split among multiple players.

What is the mid-level exception (non-taxpayer)? →What is the hard cap? →What is the bi-annual exception? →

More Celtics questions

Do the Boston Celtics have cap space in 2029-30?Are the Boston Celtics in the luxury tax in 2029-30?Are the Boston Celtics over the apron in 2029-30?Can the Boston Celtics sign a max free agent in 2029-30?Who are the Boston Celtics free agents in 2029-30?What draft picks do the Boston Celtics have?

Numbers come straight from the live Celtics cap sheet, recomputed whenever the data updates.