Definition of 10-Day Contract

What is a "10-day contract" when it comes to the NBA? What does it mean if a player signs a 10-day contract?

In the NBA, teams can sign players to 10-day contracts. 10-day contracts usually come as a result of a team suffering from injuries and needing to temporarily bolster their line-ups with players.

Teams can only sign players to 10-day contracts following January 5th of each season, and 10-day contracts are not allowed to spill over into the playoffs. If teams want to keep a player with a 10-day contract on their roster into the playoffs, they will need to sign him to a deal that runs through the remainder of the season.

Players are allowed to sign two 10-day contracts per year with the same team. If a team elects to keep a player after that, they must sign him to a standard deal that runs through the rest of the year.

The number of 10-day contracts that a team can have on its current roster depends on the total number of players on their team at the time. A team with 15 players can have three active 10-day contracts on its roster, while a team with 12 players on its roster can have zero.

Most players with 10-day contracts receive the minimum salary and that is pro-rated for the length of their contract. So, if a player's 10-day contract covers three games, these players will be paid for three games, likely at the minimum salary. The salary in a 10-day deal can be negotiated, though these players usually have zero leverage to make demands.