Cleveland Cavaliers 2026-27 Salary Cap Sheet

Updated · 2026–27 season

Cleveland Cavaliers
2026–27 Salary Cap Sheet
Payroll
$206.7M
Cap Space
-$47.6M
Tax Room
-$12.2M
1st Apron Room
-$3.6M
2nd Apron Room
+$9.1M
Est. Tax Bill
$13.8M
Hard Cap
2nd Apron
Tax Payer

Cap Position

Payroll$206.7M
Salary Cap$165.0M
Luxury Tax$200.4M
1st Apron$209.0M
2nd Apron$221.7M
KEYTeam OptionPlayer OptionMutual OptionEstimated SalaryNon-Guaranteed
Active Roster14/15 + 3/3
PosPlayerAge2026-272027-282028-292029-302030-31Notes
PFEvan Mobley25$50.11M$53.82M$57.53M$61.24MTrade Kicker: 15%
SGDonovan Mitchell30$50.11M$60.91M$65.87M$70.66M$75.53MUFA / $72M
PGJames Harden37$30.65M$32.18M$33.71MTrade Kicker: 15%
CJarrett Allen28$28.00M$30.24M$32.48MUFA / $48.9M
SFPeyton Watson24$20.47M$21.45M$22.51MTrade Kicker: 7.5%
SGSam Merrill30$9.16M$9.84M$10.52MUFA / $20.0M
SGJaylon Tyson23$3.66M$5.64MRFA / $16.9M
SFMario Hezonja31$2.45MUFA / $2.6M
CThomas Bryant29$2.45MUFA / $2.6M
FNae'Qwan Tomlin25$2.41MRFA / $3.3M
GCraig Porter Jr.26$2.41MUFA / $3.1M
SGTyrese Proctor22$2.15M$2.53M$2.74MUFA / $3M
GMeleek Thomas20$1.36M$2.29M$2.69M$2.92MUFA / $2.9M
CKhalifa Diop24$1.36M$2.29M$2.69M$2.92MUFA / $2.9M
SFRiley Minix25Two-WayYear 2
PFTristan Enaruna25Two-WayYear 2
CErnest Udeh Jr22Two-WayYear 1
Total$206.73M
Dead Money
PosPlayerAge2026-272027-282028-292029-302030-31Notes
SFCam Whitmore22$5.46M
PGRicky Rubio35$424,672
Total$5.88M
Cap Holds
PosPlayerAge2026-272027-282028-292029-302030-31Notes
CTristan Thompson35$2.45M$2.61M$2.79M$2.97M$3.17M
PGRajon Rondo40$2.45M$2.61M$2.79M$2.97M$3.17M
PFChuma Okeke38$2.45M$2.61M$2.79M$2.97M$3.17M
PGRaul Neto34$2.45M$2.61M$2.79M$2.97M$3.17M
CDamian Jones31$2.45M$2.61M$2.79M$2.97M$3.17M
CEd Davis37$2.45M$2.61M$2.79M$2.97M$3.17M
COlivier Sarr27$2.19M
Total$16.88M
Summary
CAP2026-272027-282028-292029-302030-31
Salary Cap$164,961,000$176,000,000$187,778,000$200,344,000$213,751,000
Active Salary$206,725,846$221,192,854$230,749,825$137,734,320$75,530,756
Dead Money$5,882,982
Luxury Tax Total$212,608,828$221,192,854$230,749,825$137,734,320$75,530,756
Luxury Tax Room-$12,180,828-$7,352,854-$2,599,825$105,683,680$184,176,244
Apron Total$212,608,828$221,192,854$230,749,825$137,734,320$75,530,756
1st Apron Space-$3,593,828$1,809,146$7,175,175$116,112,680$195,303,244
2nd Apron Space$9,077,172$15,328,146$21,599,175$131,501,680$211,722,244
Cap Holds$16,881,642$15,679,998$16,729,290$17,848,794$19,043,214
Total Cap Allocations$229,490,470$236,872,852$247,479,115$155,583,114$94,573,970
Cap Space (after holds)-$64,529,470-$60,872,852-$59,701,115$44,760,886$119,177,030

The Cleveland Cavaliers carry $206,725,846 in salary for 2026–27, the 8th largest payroll in the league.

That is $47.6M over the $165.0M salary cap, so the roster gets built through exceptions, re-signings and trades rather than cap space.

They are $12.2M over the $200.4M luxury-tax line, and at that payroll the tax bill projects to $13,828,898 — a combined cost of $220,554,744.

Above the first apron at $209.0M, they lose the non-taxpayer mid-level, cannot take back more salary than they send out in a trade, and cannot acquire a player by sign-and-trade. They stay +$9.1M clear of the second apron.

They are hard-capped at the 2nd Apron ($221.7M), a ceiling the payroll cannot cross for the rest of the season by any means.

This team has 14 players on standard contracts and 3 two-way deals.

Donovan Mitchell is the largest cap hit on the roster at $50,105,628, 24.2% of team payroll, ahead of Evan Mobley ($50.1M) and James Harden ($30.6M).

They have $34,144,510 of spending power available across 4 exceptions, the largest a $16.7M TPE (Max Strus).

Committed salary rises to $221,192,854 for 2027-28, held by 10 players still under contract, against a projected $176,000,000 cap.

One of their future draft picks is frozen and cannot be traded (2033).