Bucks' $193-Million Payroll, 4th-Highest in NBA, Will Limit Roster Moves

Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard are the highest-paid players on a Milwaukee Bucks payroll that exceeds the NBA's salary cap by nearly $53 million. For teams above the cap, the collective bargaining agreement imposes restrictions on signings and trades.

Milwaukee Bucks guard Damian Lillard (0) and Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) stand on the court against the Washington Wizards in the second quarter at Capital One Arena. / Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

MILWAUKEE — The Milwaukee Bucks are one of four teams operating so far above the NBA's salary cap that they will face multiple restrictions this season on any roster moves.

According to spotrac, the Bucks' active roster will draw the fourth-highest payroll in the league — around $193.1 million, and nearly $53 million more than the 2024-25 salary cap of $140.6 million.

Milwaukee, Boston, Phoenix, and Minnesota land above both the first ($178 million) and the second aprons ($188 million) of the NBA's luxury tax. The Bucks are projected to pay an estimated $75 million in luxury tax this season, according to spotrac.

More importantly, for teams with payrolls above the cap, the collective bargaining agreement imposes limitations on how teams might reshape their rosters through signings and trades.

What are the first and second aprons of the luxury tax?

The collective bargaining agreement or CBA, which runs through the 2029-30 season, added two tax aprons to the luxury tax.

Teams that exceed the first apron of $178 million cannot:

• acquire a player via a sign-and-trade;
• use the bi-annual exception of $4.7 million;
• or use more than the taxpayer mid-level exception (TMLE) of $5.2 million out of the non-taxpayer mid-level exception (NTMLE) of $12.8 million.

First-apron teams also can't sign a player on the buyout market who made more than the NTMLE on his previous contract nor could they use a traded player exception (TPE) that was created in a prior season.

Going over the second apron, as the Bucks have done, makes it more difficult for general managers.

In an article by Sportico's Lev Akabas, the second apron of the NBA's luxury tax is:

"An additional level introduced in the 2023 CBA that is $17.5 million over the luxury tax threshold. Teams that finish a season with a payroll over the second apron are subject to a long list of roster-building restrictions.

"Second-apron teams can’t do a number of things in a trade: send out cash, aggregate contracts, or take back more incoming money than outgoing money, among other commonly-used techniques.

"They also cannot sign players whose contracts were bought out by their former teams. Furthermore, teams finishing 2024-25 over the second apron will have their 2032 first-round picks frozen (i.e. untradable). Teams below the second apron that do any of the actions listed above will automatically be “hard-capped” at the second apron (i.e. prevented from making any moves that cause their payroll to exceed it)."

Basically, the Bucks are limited in what they can do with player transactions this season. They can re-sign only their own free agents and draft picks while signing new players to minimum contracts without the luxury of being able to use the TMLE.

Which is why all three of their free-agent signings this summer — Delon Wright, Gary Trent Jr., and Taurean Prince — were veteran's minimum deals. Milwaukee can still make trades, but they can't take in more salary than they are giving out (can do a 1 for 2+ trade).

Here is the current roster of the Milwaukee Bucks and each player's 2024-25 salary.

Milwaukee Bucks' 2024-25 Player Salaries

Rank	Name	Position	2024-25 salary
1.	Giannis Antetokounmpo	PF	$48,787,676
T1.	Damian Lillard	PG	$48,787,676
3.	Khris Middleton	SF	$31,666,667
4.	Brook Lopez	C	$23,000,000
5.	Bobby Portis	F/C	$12,578,286
6.	Pat Connaughton	SG	$9,423,869
7.	Delon Wright	G	$3,003,427
8.	Taurean Prince	F	$2,988,550
9.	AJ Johnson	G	$2,795,294
10.	MarJon Beauchamp	F	$2,733,720
11.	Gary Trent Jr.	SG	$2,613,120
12.	AJ Green	G	$2,120,693
13.	Andre Jackson Jr.	F	$1,891,857
T13.	Chris Livingston	F	$1,891,857
15.	Tyler Smith	PF	$1,157,153
	Liam Robbins	C	Exhibit-10
	James Akinjo	G	Exhibit-10
	Ryan Rollins	G	Two-Way
	Anzejs Pasecniks	C	Two-Way
	Stanley Umude	G	Two-Way

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