What Is a 10-Day Contract in the NBA?

A 10-day contract in the NBA is a short-term deal that lets a team sign a player for up to 10 days or three games, whichever comes first. It works as a low-risk tryout, letting teams cover injuries and audition players without committing to a full-season salary.

These contracts are one of the NBA’s most interesting roster tools, a genuine door into the league for fringe players and a flexible patch for teams dealing with a thin bench. Here is how they work, what they pay, and the rules that govern them under the league’s Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).

The basics: 10 days or three games

A 10-day contract covers a maximum of 10 calendar days or three games, whichever comes first. When it expires, the player becomes a free agent again unless the team acts. Teams generally cannot start signing players to 10-day deals until early January, once the season is well underway and roster needs have become clear, which is why you see a wave of them in the second half of the schedule.

The contract exists to solve a specific problem: rosters get stretched by injuries, illness and trades, and teams need a way to add a body quickly without locking in long-term money. The 10-day deal is that pressure valve.

What a 10-day contract pays

Pay is the prorated minimum salary for the days covered. The NBA sets minimum salaries by years of experience, so a ten-year veteran on a 10-day deal earns more than a rookie on the same deal. Because the contract spans only about ten days of a roughly six-month season, the total is a small slice of a full-season minimum. The league updates these minimum figures every season in the CBA, so the exact number changes year to year, but the principle stays the same: you are paid the minimum, prorated for the time you are actually under contract.

The two-contract limit

The most important rule is the limit. A team can sign the same player to a maximum of two 10-day contracts in a single season. Once the second one expires, the team faces a clear choice:

• sign the player for the rest of the season, or
• let the player go.

There is no third 10-day contract for that player that season. This forces a decision point and stops teams from stringing a player along indefinitely on short deals. A team can, of course, hand out 10-day contracts to many different players across a season, the limit is per player, not per team.

How the numbers work

Here is the framework in one place.

Feature	Detail
Length	Up to 10 days or 3 games, whichever comes first
When available	Generally from early January onward
Pay	Prorated minimum salary, based on years of service
Limit per player	Two 10-day contracts per season
After the second deal	Team must sign for the season or release the player

That structure is what makes the 10-day contract both a genuine opportunity for players and a controlled, low-commitment option for teams.

Why teams and players use them

For teams, the appeal is flexibility. A 10-day deal lets a coaching staff evaluate a player in real games, in their system, before deciding whether to invest a roster spot for the season. Many are used to promote players from the NBA G League, the league’s developmental system, giving prospects a direct path to the top level.

For players, a 10-day contract is often a foot in the door. A strong showing on one or two of these deals has repeatedly earned players a permanent roster spot, and for someone on the fringe of the league, that short window can define a career. The pressure is real: perform in a handful of games or head back to the G League or overseas.

The two-way contract, a close cousin

The 10-day contract is often confused with the two-way contract, and the difference is worth knowing. A two-way contract lets a player split time between an NBA team and its G League affiliate for a full season, with a cap on how many days they can spend with the NBA club. It is a longer-term development tool, whereas the 10-day is a short, immediate patch. Teams frequently use both: a two-way player develops over months, while a 10-day signee fills an urgent, temporary hole.

Together these mechanisms give teams a ladder of commitment, from a few days on a 10-day deal, to a season on a two-way contract, to a standard full roster contract. A player can climb that ladder, and many have, turning a single 10-day audition into a two-way deal and eventually a guaranteed contract.

Notable 10-day success stories

The reason players treat these deals so seriously is that they genuinely change careers. Across NBA history, numerous role players and eventual starters first arrived on 10-day contracts, using the exposure to earn a permanent spot. For a fringe player grinding in the G League or overseas, a 10-day call-up is the clearest path back to the league, and a strong ten days can be worth far more than the modest paycheck attached to it. That upside is exactly why the contract, despite its small pay and short length, is one of the most coveted opportunities in professional basketball.

Where it fits in the bigger picture

The 10-day contract is one small piece of the NBA’s complex roster and salary machinery. If you enjoy the mechanics of the game and the business around it, our looks at how WNBA salaries are structured and at the richest NBA players sit at the opposite end of the pay spectrum from a prorated minimum deal. And to understand the on-court rules these temporary players still have to master, our explainers on the shot clock in basketball and the technical foul cover fundamentals every 10-day signee must know cold.

The short version: a 10-day contract is a short NBA deal covering up to 10 days or three games, paid at the prorated minimum salary. A team can give the same player only two of them per season, after which it must sign him for the rest of the year or release him, making it the league’s main short-term tryout tool.