If you’ve spent any time tracking the Charlotte Hornets lately, you know that "flexibility" used to be a dirty word around the Spectrum Center. For years, the team felt like it was stuck in a loop of mid-tier contracts and limited ceiling. But things have changed. Honestly, the charlotte hornets salary cap situation right now is probably the most organized it’s been in a decade, even if the raw numbers look a bit eye-watering at first glance.
You’ve got a massive max extension for LaMelo Ball kicking into high gear. You’ve got rookie scale deals for Brandon Miller and Tidjane Salaun that are essentially the biggest bargains on the roster. And then there’s the weird middle ground of veteran deals that Jeff Peterson and the new front office are navigating. It’s a puzzle.
For the 2025-26 season, the NBA has set the soft salary cap at $154,647,000. The Hornets are currently sitting with roughly $178,032,649 in total cap allocations.
Wait. Does that mean they’re broke? No. Not really.
The Big Ticket: LaMelo Ball’s Max Extension
Let’s talk about the elephant in the room. Or rather, the All-Star in the backcourt. LaMelo Ball is the focal point of the franchise, and his paycheck reflects that. He’s making $37,958,760 this season. This is part of that massive five-year designated rookie max extension he signed, which could theoretically reach $260 million if he hits certain All-NBA incentives.
Some fans get nervous about this. They see the "oft-injured" label and wonder if putting nearly $38 million into one player is a trap. But here's the reality: in the modern NBA, you pay your stars. Period. Ball’s contract doesn’t actually have a player option, which is a huge win for Charlotte’s long-term stability. It keeps him under team control through 2028-29.
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The cap hit for Ball will climb every year:
- 2026-27: $40.7 million
- 2027-28: $43.5 million
- 2028-29: $46.3 million
It’s a lot of cash. However, with the salary cap projected to rise by about 10% annually due to the new media rights deal, these numbers might actually look like a "deal" by the time 2028 rolls around.
The Bridge and the Bargains
The second-highest earner is Miles Bridges at **$25,000,000**. His contract situation has always been a lightning rod for debate, but from a purely financial standpoint, he’s a productive forward being paid roughly market value for a starter. His deal is descending, meaning he’ll actually cost less next year ($22.8 million), which is a savvy bit of cap management by the front office.
But the real magic of the charlotte hornets salary cap is found in the rookie deals.
Brandon Miller is arguably a top-20 asset in the entire league right now. He’s making $11,968,800 this year. For a guy who can give you 20 points a night and elite wing defense, that’s highway robbery. The Hornets already exercised his team option for 2026-27 (at $15.1 million), ensuring they keep their best young duo together for as cheap as possible.
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Then you have the newcomers:
- Kon Knueppel: The 2025 fourth-overall pick is on the books for $10,015,680.
- Tidjane Salaun: Making $7,863,240.
- Tre Mann: At $8,000,000, he’s a flamethrower off the bench who doesn't break the bank.
Why the Luxury Tax Actually Matters Now
For most of the Michael Jordan era, the Hornets treated the luxury tax like a forbidden zone. The new ownership group, led by Gabe Plotkin and Rick Schnall, seems a bit more willing to dance near the line, but they aren't there yet.
The luxury tax threshold for this season is $187,895,000.
Charlotte is currently about **$14.4 million under the tax**. This is a strategic sweet spot. It gives them enough "tax space" to potentially take on a bad contract from another team in exchange for draft picks—a move they’ve become quite fond of lately. They are "hard-capped" at the first apron ($195.9M) because of certain offseason moves, but since they aren't even over the luxury tax yet, that's more of a theoretical ceiling than a practical problem.
The Dead Money and the "Hidden" Costs
You can't talk about a salary cap without looking at the ghosts of rosters past. The Hornets are still paying for guys who aren't in the building.
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Specifically, there’s about $5 million in "dead money" hitting the books this year. Nick Smith Jr. has a cap hit of roughly $2.7 million, and Spencer Dinwiddie accounts for about $2.3 million. It’s not a backbreaker, but in a league where every dollar counts toward staying under the "aprons," it’s a small tax on previous front-office decisions.
Looking Ahead: The 2026 Offseason
The real drama starts next summer. Several key contracts are expiring or hitting crossroads:
- Collin Sexton: He’s making $18.9 million this year on an expiring deal. He’s a massive trade chip.
- Grant Williams: At $13.6 million, he’s a locker-room leader, but his contract becomes a very movable "mid-tier" salary in 2026.
- Pat Connaughton: His $9.4 million deal expires after this season, potentially opening up a chunk of change.
The goal for Director of Salary Cap Strategy Aram Palamoudian is clear: keep the books clean enough to pay Brandon Miller when his inevitable max extension comes due in a couple of years, while surrounding LaMelo with enough veteran talent to actually win a playoff series.
Actionable Insights for Fans
If you're trying to figure out what the Hornets will do next, keep these three things in mind:
- Watch the Trade Deadline: Because the Hornets have $14 million in tax space, they are one of the few teams that can "absorb" a player without sending equal salary back. Expect them to be the "third team" in a blockbuster trade to buy more draft picks.
- The "Sexton" Decision: If the Hornets don't trade Collin Sexton by February, it likely means they want to use his "Bird Rights" to re-sign him or let his $18.9M fall off the books to go hunting in free agency.
- The Miller Extension: While he isn't eligible for a new deal until 2026, the team is already projecting their cap around his future $30M+ per year salary. Every move they make now is designed to avoid the "Second Apron" once Miller gets paid.
The days of Charlotte being a cap-clogged mess are over. They have a clear hierarchy, a healthy amount of rookie-scale talent, and a front office that actually understands the math. It’s not about having the most cap space; it’s about having the right space at the right time.