If free agent Jason Kidd were one year younger, the Nets could offer him a seven-year contract worth $116 million to $121 million, depending on where the salary cap is set for the 2003-04 season. But he turns 36 before the seventh year of a new deal would kick in, bringing the quirky "over-36 rule" into play.

As both league and players association sources with expert knowledge of the collective-bargaining agreement explained yesterday, there is no way the Nets can offer Kidd more than a six-year deal worth $95 million to $99 million even if they were willing to pay the luxury tax they would incur.

The over-36 rule requires salary in seasons starting after a player's 36th birthday be applied to the salary cap over the prior seasons. Since no player is allowed to make more than the maximum annual salary for which he is qualified, applying salary from later years to the first year of the contract effectively reduces the base pay.

Technically, the Nets could offer Kidd a seven-year contract, but the monetary value would equal the six-year deal, so it wouldn't make sense for him to play an extra year for the same money. As one expert said, this situation occurs only for maximum-salary players.

No doubt, it will come up in ongoing talks between the union and the league regarding an extension of the current CBA, which runs through next season unless the league exercises its option by Dec. 15 to extend the agreement through the 2004-05 season.