Cleveland Cavaliers

Are the Cleveland Cavaliers over the apron in 2026-27?

Season2026-272027-28 2028-29 2029-30 2030-31

Yes, both of them. The Cavaliers are $1.6M past the second apron for 2026-27 (projected).

Apron payroll

$223.6M

First apron

$209.0M (-$14.6M)

Second apron

$222.0M (-$1.6M)

Their apron payroll is $223.6M against a second-apron line of $222.0M (projected). That is the harshest tier in the CBA: no mid-level exception of any kind, no combining salaries in trades, no sending cash, and a frozen future first-round pick.

Practically, a second-apron team can only re-sign its own players with Bird rights and add veteran minimums.

The rule behind this

The second apron is the NBA's harshest spending line, introduced in the 2023 CBA. It sits roughly $20M above the luxury-tax line.

What is the second apron? →What is the first apron? →What is the veteran minimum? →

More Cavaliers questions

Do the Cleveland Cavaliers have cap space in 2026-27?Are the Cleveland Cavaliers in the luxury tax in 2026-27?Do the Cleveland Cavaliers have the mid-level exception in 2026-27?Can the Cleveland Cavaliers sign a max free agent in 2026-27?Who are the Cleveland Cavaliers free agents in 2026-27?What draft picks do the Cleveland Cavaliers have?

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