Denver Nuggets

Are the Denver Nuggets in the luxury tax in 2026-27?

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

Yes. The Nuggets are $12.8M into the luxury tax for 2026-27 (projected).

Tax line

$201.0M

Tax payroll

$213.8M

Margin

-$12.8M

The tax line sits at $201.0M (projected). The Nuggets' tax payroll (contracts plus dead money; cap holds don't count here) is $213.8M, which puts them $12.8M over.

The tax bill escalates in brackets the deeper a team goes, and repeat taxpayers pay substantially more. The basketball penalties (lost exceptions, trade restrictions) start at the aprons above the tax line.

The rule behind this

The luxury tax is a financial penalty line above the salary cap. Teams whose payroll (contracts plus dead money; cap holds don't count here) exceeds it pay a tax on the overage, at rates that escalate in brackets the deeper a team goes.

What is the luxury tax? →What is the first apron? →

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