The NFL’s cyclical calendar brings with it plenty of important dates—the trade deadline, Thanksgiving, Super Bowl Sunday, and the start of free agency, to name a few—but none may be more significant, at least financially, than June 1.
As the new league year began this past week, you probably heard the term “post-June 1 release” a time or two. Similarly, the seemingly inevitable trade of A.J. Brown from the Eagles carries substantial financial consequences depending on whether the move occurs before or after June 1.
But why June 1? I’m glad you asked. Here’s a look at what the date means for the NFL and its salary cap.
What is the significance of June 1 on the NFL calendar?
While somewhat arbitrary, June 1 falls just after free agency and the draft and just before teams break for the summer ahead of training camp—giving front offices a clean checkpoint to get their books in order. Here's how the date works, for salary cap purposes:
When a player is released or traded around the start of the new league year (mid-March), their remaining prorated bonus money and guaranteed salary accelerates onto the team's upcoming season’s cap and becomes what’s called “dead money”—a charge for a player no longer on the roster. When that same move occurs after June 1, however, teams are able to spread that dead cap-hit over two seasons instead of taking the entire hit in one year.
On top of this, thanks to a rule implemented in 2006—due in part to free agents being at a disadvantage at this point in the calendar—teams are allowed to release players with a post-June 1 designation, meaning they’re cut earlier in the spring but, for salary-cap purposes, the move is treated as if it occurred after June 1. This allows the player to hit the market early while giving the team the flexibility to spread the resulting dead-money charge over two seasons.
While this may seem like an obvious move for every team, there’s a catch: Clubs are only allowed to designate two players as post-June 1 releases each offseason, and the cap savings don't take effect until after June 1—meaning it doesn't necessarily help them clear money for free agents at the time of the release.
Post-June 1 release vs. post-June 1 trade: What’s the difference?
Some post-June 1 releases in the NFL in 2026 include Tua Tagovailoa, Kirk Cousins, and Jonathan Allen—moves that allowed the Dolphins, Falcons, and Vikings, respectively, to spread their dead cap charges over the next two seasons. When it comes to trades, however, the rules differ and don’t give teams the same benefit—as the NFL doesn’t allow trades to be made with post-June 1 designations.
The clearest example this offseason is A.J. Brown, whose Eagles would benefit from trading him prior to June 1 and spreading his remaining camp hit over two seasons. For context: If Brown were traded before June 1, Philadelphia would carry a $43 million dead-cap hit in 2026 while adding roughly $20 million to their active cap. If they were to deal him after June 1, however, the dead cap hit drops to just $16.4 million in '26 (with the remaining $27.1 million pushing to '27) and would actually save them $7 million on the active cap this season.
The other wrinkle here is that because a move must happen after June 1 to get the benefit of spreading the cap hit over two seasons, any returning compensation—should it be draft capital—can’t come from the current year’s draft, which would have already passed, and would instead have to come from future ones.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Explaining Why June 1 Is Such an Important Date on the NFL Calendar.
