What is Term?

The number of years a player's contract lasts from the signing date to expiration.

What this tells us

When a team signs a player to a contract, they commit to paying his cap hit for a set number of years. A longer term means the team is locked in longer — which can be good (you keep a star for five years) or bad (you're stuck with a declining player). Term also affects negotiating power: longer contracts often come with trade protection or no-move clauses that limit where the team can deal the player.

Limitations

Term alone doesn't tell you if a deal is good or bad — you need to know the cap hit, the player's age, and his expected performance. A five-year deal at $5M is very different from a five-year deal at $10M. Also, term doesn't account for injury risk: a player can become unable to play before the contract ends, and the team is still on the hook for his salary.

Example

A star forward might sign an 8-year contract at age 26, locking in his prime years. A veteran on the back end of his career might sign a 1-year deal, keeping both sides flexible.