Capmath

Los Angeles Lakers

Do the Los Angeles Lakers have the mid-level exception in 2026-27?

No. Over the second apron, the Lakers have no mid-level exception of any kind for 2026-27.

This includes a projected signing that is not yet official, so these figures are an estimate.

Full (non-taxpayer) MLE
$15.0M
Taxpayer MLE
$6.1M
Room MLE
$9.4M

Second-apron teams lose every version of the MLE. Outside free agents can only be signed to veteran-minimum contracts (a $2.2M cap charge for a veteran with three-plus years of service), and their own free agents can still be re-signed with Bird rights.

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 veteran minimum? →What are Bird rights? →

More Lakers questions

Do the Los Angeles Lakers have cap space in 2026-27?Are the Los Angeles Lakers in the luxury tax in 2026-27?Are the Los Angeles Lakers over the apron in 2026-27?Can the Los Angeles Lakers sign a max free agent in 2026-27?Who are the Los Angeles Lakers free agents in 2026-27?What draft picks do the Los Angeles Lakers have?

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