NBA 2 WAY Player Contracts

NBA Allows Up To 60 New Players Into Association

By: Brad Zellner

10/23/2017

***This is the first installment in the series taking a closer look at the new 2-way contracts that has been instituted by the NBA this season***

The NBA has added a new twist to the 2017-18 season by increasing every team’s roster size by 2 players (up from 15). These are not players who will be seen all the time playing for their respective NBA team. These new rosters spots will allow teams to share the players with a G-League team. The players locked into these new roster spots will be signed to the NBA’s new 2-way player contracts.

These new contracts will allow players to be called up by the parent club for a maximum of 45 days. There are no guarantees the 2-way player will be called up to the NBA but a player’s chances increases when they are under contract by the NBA. While waiting to get called up to the NBA the 2-way players will hone their skills playing for the NBA affiliate G-League team. As of right now, 26 of the 30 NBA teams have an affiliation with a minor league team. If a NBA team has no such partnership in the G-League then the 2-way player will reside with any other minor league team.

Players on a 2-way contract will not be earning Westbrook or Lebron type money but the pay will be better than any other G-League players. The base salary for a normal G-league player is $26,000. The 2-way player will make a salary of $75,000 and will earn a pro-rated rookie salary for each day spent in the NBA. A player could potentially earn about $204,000 for spending all 45 days in the NBA.

Season Two-Way salary

2017-18 $75,000

2018-19 $77,250

2019-20 $79,568

2020-21 $81,955

2021-22 $84,414

2022-23 $86,946

2023-24 $89,554

2024-25 $92,241

The chart shows the salary of 2-way contracts through 2024-2025 season.

here could be some drawbacks to becoming a 2-way player. All of the players under a normal G-League contract have the ability to be signed by any NBA club to a 10-day contract. There is no more freedom of movement and a 2-way player is locked into one NBA team. 2-way players are only allowed to play for the NBA team they are signed too. As mentioned before, a 2-way player will only be allowed to play in the NBA for 45 days. Taking away the opportunity to earn multiple 10-day contracts and a shot for a contract until the end of the year. Also, a 2-way player contract is not allowed to have any incentives or Early Termination Options. This gives the NBA team full control over their 2-way players.

Not every team is required to sign these new contracts but they have taken advantage of the new rule. All 30 teams have signed at least one player to a 2-way contract.

With the beginning of 2-way contracts, it brings the NBA and G-League much closer to the formula used by Major League Baseball (MLB) to help develop young players. The basketball minor league system will never need to be as complex as what MLB has in place. Having the minor league system will help teams develop players and make the Association much deeper than it is now. In the future, all 30 NBA teams should have a G-League affiliation and control their entire roster. If teams knew they could send a young player to the minors to allow them to mature then the possibility of getting players right out of high school could return sooner than later. The deadline to sign a 2-way contract is January 15, 2018, so watch for more of these unique contracts being signed in the near future.