What is a post-June 1 cut? How designation helps NFL teams manage salary cap space
The NFL offseason isn't solely about teams adding players to their 90-man rosters and talent pools. It's also about moving on from well-known players who no longer have a future with the franchise.
Aaron Rodgers is a prime example of this in 2025. The New York Jets have already informed the veteran quarterback they are going to move on from him after two seasons together. The Jets will eventually release him and allow him to seek a free-agent contract with another team.
Releasing Rodgers won't be cheap. He has a big-money contract that will eat up some of New York's salary cap space even if he isn't on the roster.
Luckily, the Jets have a way to defray the immediate cost of Rodgers' departure if they so desire. They can designate him as a post-June 1 release in order to spread his dead money charge over two seasons.
Here's what to know about the NFL's post-June 1 designation and the financial rules tied to it.
What is dead cap money in the NFL?
To understand a post-June 1 designation, one first must understand dead money, which is also known as "dead cap space" or simply "dead cap."
Dead money is a salary cap charge for a player no longer on a team's roster. Typically, it stems from guaranteed money already given to a player in the form of signing bonuses who is either released, traded or retires.
The NFL allows teams to prorate signing bonuses, option bonuses and certain roster bonuses over a period of up to five years. The sums of these bonuses are typically paid upfront, but the team accounts for the bonus by spreading it out evenly over the duration of the contract. This allows the team to defray the immediate salary-cap cost of signing a player and better balance its budget.
However, in the event that the team and player part ways before the end of the contract – whether it's via a release, trade or retirement – the remaining prorated bonus accelerates onto the team's current salary cap. That creates the dead money charge, which ensures the total value of the contract paid by the team matches the overall cap charges the player accrued while with the organization.
What is a post-June 1 cut in the NFL?
A post-June 1 cut happens when an NFL team releases a player on June 2 or later. If this happens, the team is allowed to split the player's dead cap hit over two seasons rather than absorbing it all at once.
Players released any time on June 1 or earlier see their prorated signing bonuses accelerate onto the current year's salary cap. This results in larger, one-year dead money charges that limit teams' available salary cap space.
As such, it behooves teams to release players with larger contracts after June 1, as it allows them to create slightly more present-day salary cap flexibility. They end up having to pay the full value of the dead money charge, but spreading it out over two years is often more palatable for organizations.
What is a post-June 1 designation in the NFL?
If an NFL team doesn't want to wait until after June 1 to reap the rewards of cutting a player, they can release up to two players per year with a post-June 1 designation. This allows the player to immediately release the player while keeping his full cap charge on the roster until June 2.
At that point, the player's remaining dead money is spread over two seasons. The present dead money charge for the player will be comprised of his prorated signing bonus for the current year along with any guaranteed salary owed to him. Then, the remaining prorated signing bonus will be accounted for as a new dead money charge at the beginning of the next league year.
For example, the Jets would carry a $49 million dead money charge if they release Rodgers during the 2025 offseason. However, if they designate him a post-June 1 release, his dead cap hit for 2025 would shrink to $14 million, per Spotrac.com. The Jets would then account for the remaining $35 million of dead money on their 2026 salary cap.
Another example: the Atlanta Falcons would carry a $65 million dead money charge if they release Kirk Cousins during the 2025 offseason. However, if they designate him a post-June 1 release, his dead cap hit would shrink to $40 million in 2025 (stemming from his $27.5 million guaranteed salary and the $12.5 million of his prorated signing bonus) while the team would also absorb a $25 million cap hit in 2026, stemming from the $25 million remainder of his prorated signing bonus.