Perhaps the most well-known of the NBA's salary cap exceptions, it is so named because the
color="#002bb8Boston" Celtics were the first team permitted to exceed the salary cap to re-sign one of their own players (in that case,
color="#002bb8Larry" Bird). Free agents who qualify for this exception are called "qualifying veteran free agents" or "Bird Free Agents" in the CBA, and this exception falls under the auspices of the Veteran Free Agent exception. In essence, the Larry Bird exception allows teams to exceed the salary cap to re-sign their own free agents, at an amount up to the maximum salary.