Charlotte Hornets Salary Cap 2026-27
Live cap sheet vs the real luxury-tax and apron lines, plus contract table and cap-space FAQ.
Apron ladder
What can the Charlotte Hornets afford?
What can CHA afford?
Non-taxpayercomputed live · verified floorEvery number below is a CBA-engine computation on CHA's verified 2026-27 contracts ($125.4M floor) — what this front office can actually do in the market, not a projection.
CHA can take back at most $110.9M in any single trade on the verified floor. Under the cap → can absorb into $39.6M of cap room: take back up to outgoing + room = $110.9M.
- Expanded-band matching applies (up to 200% + $250K on small outgoing salaries).
- Expanded matching cannot be used to cross the first apron ($209.0M).
Exception tools (mid-level, bi-annual, minimums), sign-and-trades and Bird rights are outside this engine's model — CapDesk shows only what it can compute on verified data, never an estimated exception value. Mid-offseason the floor undercounts unpriced players, so cap room reads high — see the Data Ledger for what's verified.
Charlotte Hornets on the wire
Reading the league wire…
Display only — wire items never change the contract table above. Roster and salary figures move exclusively through the verified salary pipeline (Basketball-Reference cited; reported deals surface amber with citations). Method + corrections: Data Ledger.
2026-27 contract table
| Player | Pos | 2026-27 cap hit |
|---|---|---|
| Naz Reid | C | $23.3M |
| Grayson Allen | G | $18.1M |
| Brandon Miller | F | $15.1M |
| Dennis Schroder | G | $14.8M |
| Grant Williams | F | $14.3M |
| Royce O'Neale | F | $10.9M |
| Kon Knueppel | G | $10.5M |
| Tidjane Salaun | F | $8.2M |
| Liam McNeeley | G | $2.9M |
| Moussa Diabate | F | $2.5M |
| Sion James | G | $2.4M |
| Ryan Kalkbrenner | C | $2.4M |
| Christian Anderson | G | — |
| Kylan Boswell | G | — |
| PJ Hall | C | — |
| Hannes Steinbach | F | — |
| Coby White | G | — |
| Team total (verified floor) | $125.4M |
“—” = no verified 2026-27 cap hit on file (never a guessed number). Figures tagged rep. are cited REPORTED deals (estimated flat from the reported total/years) — not yet verified on Basketball-Reference; two-way deals don't count against the cap. Team total counts verified contracts only, so it reads as a floor mid-offseason. Verification method + corrections log: Data Ledger.
Frequently asked
How much cap space do the Charlotte Hornets have?
As of October 21, 2026, the Charlotte Hornets sit about $39.6M below the $165.0M salary cap on verified 2026-27 contracts — that is their theoretical cap-space floor (it shrinks as unpriced free agents are accounted for).
What is the Charlotte Hornets' total payroll for 2026-27?
Their verified 2026-27 payroll is $125.4M ($125,395,600), summed from 12 verified contracts across a 17-man roster. This is a floor — it counts only guaranteed cap hits CapDesk can source, so unpriced players read as "—".
Are the Charlotte Hornets over the luxury tax or an apron?
As of October 21, 2026 the Charlotte Hornets are under the salary cap ($125.4M). The 2026-27 luxury tax is $200.4M, the first apron $209.0M, and the second apron $221.7M.
How far are the Charlotte Hornets from the first and second apron?
On verified contracts they are $83.6M under the first apron ($209.0M) and $96.3M under the second apron ($221.7M).
Who is the highest-paid Charlotte Hornets player in 2026-27?
Naz Reid carries the largest verified 2026-27 cap hit on the roster at $23.3M ($23,275,862).
What is the biggest salary the Charlotte Hornets can take back in a trade?
On their verified 2026-27 floor, the CBA engine puts the Charlotte Hornets' largest legal single-trade take-back at $110.9M — sending Naz Reid + Grayson Allen + Brandon Miller + Dennis Schroder ($71.3M). Exception tools (MLE/BAE/minimums) are outside the engine's model and are not estimated.