Details on signing bonuses for veteran extensions?

[LA_33]

Hey all,

Does anyone know the details of how the signing bonuses allowed in veteran extensions under the current CBA work.

I'm wondering specifically about whether the 15% signing bonus that's allowed can be added on top of annual salaries that are already the maximum increase over the contract being extended, or if the 15% bonus is just a way to shift the payment schedule of the contract, but doesn't change the maximum dollars that can be offered without a bonus.

For example, there's been talk this week of Rondo and the Celtics discussing an extension before he becomes a FA in 2015. His 2014-15 salary is $12.9m, so the maximum allowed salary for the first year of an extension would be $13.87m. With 7.5% raises, that would make the extension about $44.7m over three years.

Can a 15% signing bonus then be added IN ADDITION to that $44.7m total, making the contract over $51m total (an AAV of $17m), or does a signing bonus just allow 15% of a maximum $44.7m extension to be treated differently than if the full $44.7m was "normal" salary?

Thanks for any help people can give me.

[DBoys]

Bonus money just changes the payment schedule and the cap accounting. It does NOT increase the limit of what a team can offer. In fact, the bigger the bonus, the smaller total contract that's possible.