The term “Max Contract” is being said so much these days I’m beginning to think I should get one. Rudy Gay just got one for his work, and it seems as if there will be several more to come in the next few weeks. Here is a break down of what a “Max Contract” is….

First off, the amount of the salary cap for 2010-11 is a major factor. This year’s cap was set at $57.7 million, and there have been rumors the cap would be set anywhere from $51-$55 million for 2010-11. Because max contracts are determined as a percentage of the cap, it’s currently a variable target.

The second issue is the percentages themselves. Maximum contract percentages are not equal for all players; it depends on a player’s years of NBA experience, and it breaks down like this:

Years of Experience

0-6 years: 25% of the cap
7-9 years: 30% of the cap
10 or more years: 35% of the cap

Now we have to tie those two pieces of information together, and determine what the starting salaries would be for a max contract (that is, the salary for the first year of the contract). We’ll stick with whole numbers here, in the range of the possible cap mentioned above.

$51 Million Cap

0-6 years: $12,750,000
7-9 years: $15,300,000
10 or more years: $17,850,000

$52 Million Cap

0-6 years: $13,000,000
7-9 years: $15,600,000
10 or more years: $18,200,000

$53 Million Cap

0-6 years: $13,250,000
7-9 years: $15,900,000
10 or more years: $18,550,000

$54 Million Cap

0-6 years: $13,500,000
7-9 years: $16,200,000
10 or more years: $18,900,000

$55 Million Cap

0-6 years: $13,750,000
7-9 years: $16,500,000
10 or more years: $19,250,000

For those of you keeping score at home…..

LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers: 7 years
Dwyane Wade, Miami HEAT: 7 years
Chris Bosh, Toronto Raptors: 7 years
Amar’e Stoudemire, Phoenix Suns: 8 years
Carlos Boozer, Utah Jazz: 8 years
Joe Johnson, Atlanta Hawks: 9 years