The significance of June 1st on the NFL Calendar

 

6/01/22: The significance of June 1^st on the NFL Calendar

In the NFL’s past, June 2^nd used to carry a lot of fiscal weight.  It was a dreaded date for veterans, because teams would look at this as the ideal date to release players with excessive contracts.  Why then?  Because their pro-rated bonuses for the remaining contract years would be delayed till the following season after 6/1. 

And the big name free agents were then at a disadvantage because most other teams had already filled their needs (and budgets).  So released players, even those suffering declining performance, couldn’t get deals commensurate with their market value. 

This was fixed in 2006 collective bargaining, where teams could release up to 2 players early, designating them as 6/1 releases so they could bargain with other teams earlier.  The releasing team still carries the cap burden till 6/1, when the players salary would come off the books.   Any remaining pro-rated money for future years (Initial signing bonuses, etc.) the releasing team would have on their cap at that point (referred to as “dead money”) has already typically been paid, but the cap charge for that payment had been pro-rated across years.  Now, with the player no longer on the roster the cap charges that remain are “dead money.”  The June 1^st designation allows many teams to push the “dead money” out of the current season’s cap restriction if they choose to do so.

Also, June 1 matters because even without the preliminary 6/1 designation, after 6/1 a released player will have the dead money charge split between 2 seasons.  So players with high pro-rated charges are frequently released after 6/1 to help further spread the pro-rated dollars (like Atlanta did to Julio Jones last year). 

So teams will use the June 1^st calendar delimiter to get creative with how they move cap charges around, so the number of Free Agent signings (Post draft wave 2) will now pick up. 

This season, 11 veterans had received this June 1^st release designation: WR Julio Jones (Atl->Ten), DT Fletcher Cox (Phl cut, then resigned), Saf Landon Collins (Was, still unsigned), TE Austin Hooper (Cle->Ten), OT La’el Collins (Dal->Cin), LB Cory Littleton (Raiders->Car), Edge Carlos Dunlap (Sea, still unsigned), LB Danny Trevathan (Chi, still unsigned), DT Jordan Phillips (Ari->Buf), RB Tarik Cohen (Chi, Unsigned and tore his ACL recently while unsigned), Edge Carl Nassib (Raiders, Still unsigned).

So the Eagles used a cut/resign approach with Fletcher Cox to keep him 1 more year (at the time {3/17} Jordan Davis was not yet drafted) and to preserve a few million in 2022 cap space.  The Eagles also leveraged the June 1^st designation when Brandon Brooks retired on 1/26.  While the Eagles release of Nate Herbig suggested the Birds were done with offensive line related cap manipulation.  Additionally, they used up their preliminary June 1^st designations, and additionally 6/1 is now here.   

The Eagles have 3 “expensive” players they might want to move now, post June 1:

• Andre Dillard- A very solid option as a backup takle this year, I do not think the Eagles will trade him.  He carries a 1^st rounders salary, but has a lot of value since he backs up Mialata if Jordan gets hurt, and Mialata could move to the Right side and Dillard could slide into his spot on the eft if Lane Johnson gets hurt.  Plus, the draft pick the Eagles would receive won’t be much better than the one they could get via the compensatory pick formula. 
• Isaac Seumalo- A starting caliber NFL guard whom his position coach (the highly respected Jeff Stoutland)  really favors.  Seumalo will start this year unless the Eagles are blown away by a trade offer.  Again, the compensatory formula could work in the Birds favor if Seumalo, a good player who’s had a harder time staying healthy in recent seasons, can stay healthy in 2022.  It’s a good bet.
• Jalen Reagor- The Eagles will not cut the 2020 1^st rounder, but an agreeable trade with a team needing a wide receiver, and having an abundance of depth at a position of Eagle need (Safety?  Punter? Punt Returner?) seems very possible.  Don’t forget the “3 year wide receiver rule:” Many receivers underperform their first 2 years.  Raegor appears a bust, but could turn it around, in Philly or elsewhere. 

Eagle Lesson:  Howie never stops.  He uses any edge, any subtlety, to gain an advantage for the Birds.  Watch what he does this year with the post June 1^st designation in mind.  He’s used it twice already (Cox and Brooks).  I’d be surprised if he does not use it again!