The NBA and the National Basketball Players Association agreed to a new seven-year collective bargaining agreement on Friday night, reported Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
The deal starts with the 2023-24 season and includes a mutual opt-out after the sixth year.
The agreement includes several key new details, including the creation of a second salary cap apron of $17.5 million over the tax line where teams will no longer have access to the taxpayer mid-level in free agency.
The deal will also have larger trade exceptions as a way to create more spending and trading opportunities for middle- and lower-spending teams.
The new CBA will also add a mandatory games played of 65 games (with conditions) in order to be eligible for postseason awards.
A new in-season tournament will also start during the 2023-24 season, which includes pool-play games baked into the regular season schedule. Eight teams will then advance to a single-elimination tournament, with the final four possibly taking place in Las Vegas. With in-season tournament games counting towards regular season standings, the two championship teams will play 83 games in a season.
The prize money for the championship team will be $500,000 per player, sources told Shams Charania of The Athletic. Charania also adds that marijuana has been removed from the anti-drug testing program.
The two sides also agreed to increase the upper limit on extensions from the current 120% to 140%.
The agreement will also add a third two-way contract slot on team rosters.
Both the owners and players are expected to ratify the agreement in the future.
