June 2 Cap Changes

We have now made the turn into June and with June 2 comes our first major cap rule change for the season.  From this point through the end of the League Year any player released from a multiple year contract will have his prorated money accelerate into the 2016 League Year rather than the 2015 League Year. So any player cut from this point forward on a multi year deal will have his salary cap figure impact two rather than just one season.

This is also the day that players who were designated a June 1 cut will come off the books for their respective teams. Players designated a June 1 remain on a teams accounting cap sheets as if they were never cut until June 2. Today their base salaries, roster bonuses, workout bonuses, and any likely to be earned incentives will drop off the cap and their prorated money will be all that remains.

The two players designated a June 1 cut this year were Phillip Wheeler of the Dolphins and DeAngelo Williams of the Panthers. Wheeler’s status change will create $3 million in cap space for Miami while Williams’ will create $2 million for Carolina. Both will carry dead charges in 2016 with Wheeler at $2.8 million and Williams at $1.6 million.

The June 1 date used to be more significant on the calender when teams were poorly managed and could not release the player prior to June 1 due to cap considerations. The June 1 designation rule was designed to eliminate a team having to carry a player they no longer wanted so that the player could find a new job early in the year, as Wheeler and Williams did. Wheeler is now a member of the 49ers while Williams a member of the Steelers, which would not have happened before the rule was introduced. Still the main reason that the rule has less impact today is that team’s are far better managed than in the past, with cap managers creating contracts and rosters that should never have these problems.

If you want to get a better idea of the cap space saved for your team simply change the little menu button to “Cut (post June 1) and that will reflect the immediate cap savings for most players. The only exception is guaranteed salary as the page doesnt include the acceleration that occurs of guarantees (guarantees are not treated as a June 1). However those are reflected in the salary cap calculators that we have.