June 2 holds significant importance in the NFL’s financial landscape. According to the league’s salary cap regulations, any remaining or future bonus allocations from a player’s contract are deferred to the next league year if they are released, retire, or are traded after this date.
Historically, June 2 was even more pivotal in the NFL. It heralded the last wave of free agency, a time when teams would often offload players burdened with hefty contracts or declining performance due to changes in salary cap dynamics.
In some seasons, over 20 players found themselves released post-June 1. Notable figures such as Hall of Famers Jerry Rice and Kurt Warner were among those who became free agents as a result of these salary cap considerations.
These players often faced challenges in securing new deals, as most teams had already addressed their roster needs during the NFL Draft, and available salary cap space was scarce. Consequently, many of these players were unable to negotiate contracts that matched their true market value had they become available earlier.
The landscape shifted in 2006 with the introduction of a provision in the NFL’s collective bargaining agreement. This allowed teams to designate up to two players per league year as post-June 1 releases before June 2, treating them for salary cap purposes as if they were released after the official date.
Under this post-June 1 designation, teams must maintain the player’s full cap number until June 2, even though they are no longer on the roster. However, the player’s salary is then removed from the books unless it is guaranteed.
This provision has been included in every subsequent CBA, including the current labor agreement. Post-June 1 designations don’t apply to trades.
A majority of time when a player is traded or released, there is a residual cap charge, largely because of bonus proration. This cap charge for a player who is no longer on a team’s roster is commonly referred to as dead money. It is typically a sunk cost where money isn’t owed to the player. Only when there are salary guarantees or money previously paid in the current league year at the time of a release or trade is there an actual payment associated with dead money.
Eleven players have been released during the 2026 league year with a post-June 1 designation. Only the current year’s bonus proration counts against the 2026 salary cap when players are released or traded after June 1 this league year. Any future bonus proration becomes a 2027 salary cap charge.
Four teams — the Cleveland Browns, Green Bay Packers, Miami Dolphins and Minnesota Vikings — used both of their post-June 1 designations. These 11 players are listed below, along with the salary cap implications of their departures.
- $56,267,647
- $55 million
- $55.4 million (includes $15 million option bonus and $39 million 2026 base salary guarantee)
- $867,647
- $43.8 million
As expected, Tua Tagovailoa was expendable under the new regime of general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan and head coach Jeff Hafley. The Dolphins gave Malik Willis a three-year, $67.5 million contract with $45 million fully guaranteed to replace Tagovailoa at quarterback.
The $99.2 million in total dead money is a record tied to a single player contract. The $55.4 million in 2026 is also a record for dead money associated with an individual player in a single league year.
The dead money is so high because Tagovailoa’s $54 million 2026 base salary was fully guaranteed. To avoid a 2026 dead-money charge of $67.4 million, the Dolphins exercised an option for a dummy/voiding 2030 contract year before Tagovailoa’s release in March by making a $15 million payment (i.e., an option bonus).
Upon exercise, the option bonus was prorated at $3 million annually on Miami’s salary cap from 2026 through 2030. The dead-money charges would have been $67.4 million in 2026 and $31.8 million in 2027 had the option not been exercised.
- $51,711,466
- $42,542,500
- $46,568,966 (includes $22.835 million 2026 base salary guarantee and $13.965 million 2026 roster bonus guarantee)
- $5,142,500
- $3,961,966
Kyler Murray was effectively benched in favor of Jacoby Brissett, a journeyman backup quarterback, before going on injured reserve in Week 10 with the right foot sprain he suffered five games into the 2025 season. Arizona’s offense operated more efficiently with Brissett at the helm.
The Cardinals attempted to trade Murray before his release in March but couldn’t find a taker because of his contract. Three years worth $125,234,860, including $36.8 million fully guaranteed for 2026, remained on the five-year, $230.1 million contract extension Murray signed in 2022.
- $24.6 million
- $12.1 million
- $22.5 million (includes $10 million 2026 roster bonus guarantee)
- $2.1 million
- $12.5 million
The Falcons reworked Kirk Cousins’ contract as the end of the 2025 regular season approached to pave the way for his release with a post-June 1 designation. His $35 million 2026 base salary was reduced to $2.1 million, freeing up $32.9 million in 2026 cap space.
Cousins’ 2027 base salary was increased by $32.9 million to $67.9 million, with that money becoming fully guaranteed on the third day of the 2026 league year (March 13). By NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement rules, a post-June 1 designation is prohibited when contract modifications occur after the end of the previous regular season.
- $4.3 million
- $1.3 million
- $3 million
- $1.3 million
- $7.6 million
The one-year, $10.25 million deal Harrison Smith signed with the Vikings last March was designed with the use of a post-June 1 designation in mind. There were 2026 through 2029 contract years for bonus-proration purposes. Smith’s $25 million 2027 base salary was set to become fully guaranteed on the third day of the 2026 league year if he wasn’t released. The Vikings remain open to Smith, who is 37 and contemplating retirement, returning for a 15th season in Minnesota.
- $31,202,742
- $20.23 million
- $10,972,742
- $20.23 million
- $12,886,500
Bradley Chubb had a team-high 8.5 sacks for the Dolphins in 2025 after missing the entire 2024 season because of a severe right knee injury (torn ACL, meniscus and patellar tendon) suffered late in the 2023 season. A difficult Dolphins salary cap situation prompted Chubb’s departure.
- $10.834 million
- $1.3 million
- $9.534 million
- $1.3 million
- $14.797 million
David Njoku’s contract with the Browns was set to expire on its own terms until a contract maneuver during the middle of the 2025 season. Dummy/voiding 2026 through 2028 contract years were converted into real contract years. Njoku’s 2028 base salary was an unsecured $75 million that became fully guaranteed on the third day of the 2026 league year (March 13) to ensure he would be released. The Browns would have had $24.331 million in 2026 dead money for Njoku without this creative salary-cap accounting maneuver.
- $10,356,666
- $9 million
- $2,166,666
- $8.19 million
- $2,166,668
The Broncos ignored durability concerns about Dre Greenlaw when signing him to a three-year, $31.5 million contract averaging $10.5 million per year and worth up to $34.5 million in 2025 free agency. Greenlaw’s inability to stay healthy was a major factor in Denver releasing him after just one season.
- $23,866,666
- $17.7 million
- $12,666,666
- $11.2 million (includes $8 million 2026 base salary guarantee)
- $4,666,668
An $8 million 2026 base salary guarantee wasn’t enough for Jonathan Allen to earn a second year with the Vikings after signing a three-year, $51 million contract worth up to $60 million through incentives and salary escalators as an unrestricted free agent in 2025. An additional $8 million of Allen’s 2026 base salary was set to become fully guaranteed on the third day of the 2026 league year.
- $10.393 million
- $2.1 million
- $8.293 million
- $2.1 million
- $13.011 million
The Browns used the poison-pill concept employed with Njoku in a preseason contract restructure to create 2025 salary cap space. Wyatt Teller’s unsecured $99 million 2028 base salary becoming fully guaranteed on the third day of the 2026 league year was the poison pill in this case.
- $12,838,235
- $9.05 million
- $4 million
- $8,838,235
- $8 million
Signing Nate Hobbs to a four-year, $48 million contract in 2025 free agency backfired on the Packers. Green Bay overestimated Hobbs’ ability to play on the perimeter in addition to playing slot cornerback. Hobbs made $17,988,235 during his one-season stint in Green Bay.
- $5,278,431
- $3.7 million
- $2,666,666 (includes $1 million March roster bonus)
- $2,611,765
- $1,666,668
Brandon McManus’ days in Green Bay were numbered after the Packers selected University of Florida kicker Trey Smack in the sixth round of the 2026 NFL Draft. Making 80% of his field-goal attempts last season when the league-average conversion rate was 85.6% didn’t help his cause.
