Sixers 2026 Salary Cap Tracker: How Much Room, Flexibility Do They Have This Offseason

Unless the Sixers trade one of their Big Three, their hands will be largely tied this offseason.

Feb 26, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey (R) and guard Vj Edgecombe (L) react after a victory against the Miami Heat at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images | Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

The New York Knicks finished their sweep of the Sixers on Sunday, ensuring that the Sixers' quarter-century drought of conference finals appearances continued. They'll now head into the offseason aiming to change that next year.

Unfortunately, the Sixers aren't going to have much financial flexibility.

Unless they trade at least one of Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey or Paul George, they're going to have three max contracts on their books through 2027-28. (That assumes, of course, that George picks up his $67.3 million player option ahead of his age-37 season.)

And it doesn't sound like they'll be able to generate much trade interest in Embiid or George given their age, injury history and remaining length of their respective contracts.

Brian Windhorst on Joel Embiid questioning his future in Philly:

“He has 3 years $192M left on his contract…which will begin next season. That is why I can promise him he will definitely be back. He is not going anywhere.“ pic.twitter.com/6FfJNl6gQz

— SPORTSRADIO 94WIP (@SportsRadioWIP) May 11, 2026

The aprons are their bigger concern. Those are what dictate which—if any—mid-level exception the Sixers get.

According to ESPN's Shams Charania, the latest projected for the 2026-27 salary cap as of late March is $165 million. That means the luxury-tax line would land at $201 million, the first apron would be $209 million and the second apron would be $222 million.

With that in mind, here's where the Sixers stand heading into the offseason.

Sixers' 2026-27 salary chart

PLAYER	2026-27 SALARY
Joel Embiid	$57,750,000 (projected)
Paul George	$54,126,380
Tyrese Maxey	$40,770,520
VJ Edgecombe	$11,663,880
No. 22 pick	$3,597,840 (projected)
Dominick Barlow	$3,415,000 (team option)
Trendon Watford	$2,801,346 (team option)
Dalen Terry	$2,584,539 (team option)
Jabari Walker	$2,584,539 (only $250,000 guaranteed)
Justin Edwards	$2,411,090
Adem Bona	$2,296,271 (non-guaranteed)
Johni Broome	$2,150,917
GUARANTEED SALARY	$172,470,627
TOTAL SALARY	$186,152,322

That's where they stand in total salary. Here's what that means for them if they pick up their team op tions on Dominick Barlow, Trendon Watford and Dalen Terry and guarantee Adem Bona's salary.

TOTAL SALARY	$186,152,322
SALARY CAP	$165,000,000
CAP ROOM	-$21,152,322
LUXURY TAX	$201,000,000
TAX ROOM	$14,847,678
1ST APRON	$209,000,000
1ST APRON ROOM	$22,847,678
2ND APRON	$222,000,000
2ND APRON ROOM	$35,847,678

The Sixers could decline their team options on Barlow, Watford and Terry to give themselves a bit more wiggle room. Jabari Walker only has $250,000 of his $2.6 million salary for next season guaranteed, while Adem Bona's $2.3 million salary is fully non-guaranteed.

Granted, a veteran-minimum contract for someone with two or more years of NBA experience is projected to be $2.45 million. So, even if the Sixers do waive Watford and Terry, they'll only save a few hundred-thousand dollars. Meanwhile, Bona is set to earn roughly $150,000 less than a vet-min signing, which might protect his spot on the roster.

Which Exceptions Will The Sixers Have?

Quentin Grimes and Kelly Oubre Jr. will effectively decide which (if any) mid-level exception the Sixers have access to this offseason.

If the Sixers cross the first apron, they'll lose access to the $15.0 million non-taxpayer MLE. If they cross the second apron, they won't even have access to the $6.1 million taxpayer MLE. They wouldn't have a mid-level exception at all, so they'd only be able to offer veteran-minimum contracts to external free agents.

It feels relatively safe to say that Grimes will not be receiving the $30 million annual salary that his camp reportedly wanted last offseason. Something around the non-taxpayer MLE seems like his ceiling rather than his floor.

Oubre is trickier to get a read on. He shot a career-best 36.0% from three-point range this season after shooting only 30.3% from deep across his first two seasons with the Sixers, but he's still nowhere near a quintessential long-range marksman. He's a rangy defender, a strong cutter and someone whose energy and effort are rarely in question, although he doesn't fit the typical three-and-D mold that teams often want.

If the Sixers re-sign both Oubre and Grimes, it could be tough for them to stay under the first apron. That would limit them to the taxpayer MLE at most, which would make it difficult for them to sign an impact player in free agency.

There's also no guarantee that the Sixers use whichever MLE they have, particularly during the offseason. Using the non-taxpayer MLE would hard-cap them at the first apron, which is likely a non-starter unless both Oubre and Grimes walk in free agency. Using the taxpayer MLE would hard-cap them at the second apron.

The Sixers didn't touch their MLE this past offseason. They wound up using a portion of it to sign Barlow and Terry to the in-season deals that they received. It wouldn't be surprising if they went that route this summer as well to avoid hard-capping themselves prematurely.

This is among the many pitfalls of a three-max build. The Sixers' front office will have its work cut out for it this offseason to upgrade the roster given its financial constraints.

And if the Sixers aren't planning on paying the luxury tax next year, there's almost zero chance that they'll re-sign both Oubre and Grimes with the intention of keeping them beyond the February trade deadline.

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Unless otherwise noted, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball Reference. All salary information via Spotrac and salary-cap information via RealGM.

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