Traded player exception

A traded player exception, or TPE, is the credit a team banks when it trades a player away and takes back less salary than it sent out. That gap becomes a coupon, good for about a year, that lets the team absorb an incoming contract later without having to match salaries.

It is one of the quieter advantages of a sharp front office, and one more tool the second apron takes away: teams over that line can't use a TPE at all.