diff --git a/core/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/executor/Executor.scala b/core/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/executor/Executor.scala
index baee7a216a7c..07fe3ee07dc0 100644
--- a/core/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/executor/Executor.scala
+++ b/core/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/executor/Executor.scala
@@ -212,7 +212,9 @@ private[spark] class Executor(
         val serializedDirectResult = ser.serialize(directResult)
         logInfo("Serialized size of result for " + taskId + " is " + serializedDirectResult.limit)
         val serializedResult = {
-          if (serializedDirectResult.limit >= akkaFrameSize - 1024) {
+          // space for akka headers and other arguments
+          val akkaOverhead = 100 * 1024
+          if (serializedDirectResult.limit >= akkaFrameSize - akkaOverhead) {
             logInfo("Storing result for " + taskId + " in local BlockManager")
             val blockId = TaskResultBlockId(taskId)
             env.blockManager.putBytes(