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2026 CBA — what we check

EliteGM validates every trade against the 2026 Collective Bargaining Agreement and surfaces warnings — we never block a trade. Use these as guidelines, not legal advice.

Salary matching

For over-the-cap teams, incoming salary cannot exceed:

  • Up to $7.5M outgoing: 200% + $250K
  • $7.5M – $29M outgoing: 100% + $7.5M
  • Above $29M outgoing: 100% + $7.5M

Apron tiers

  • 1st Apron teams can only take back up to 110% of outgoing salary.
  • 2nd Apron teams cannot take back any more than they send out and cannot aggregate.

Stepien rule

A team cannot trade away first-round picks in consecutive future drafts.

No-trade clauses

Players with NTC must consent. We flag these in the trade review.

Roster limits

14-player minimum, 18-player maximum (15 standard + 3 two-way).

Out of scope in v1: Base-Year Compensation, poison-pill, trade exceptions (TPEs), aggregation restrictions, sign-and-trades.