Cap space from the release of Tre’Davious White will be available June 2
The Buffalo Bills are among a handful of NFL teams that will receive a significant bump in salary cap space this weekend as the league turns the page from June 1 to June 2. The Bills released cornerback Tre’Davious White in March with a post-June 1 designation, and the 2024 salary cap space created from that move becomes available on June 2.
What is the post-June 1 designation? It’s a mechanism in play for NFL teams to use in order to release a player in March in a move that simultaneously benefits the player and the team. Once June 2 hits, dead-money cap hits are spread over two seasons instead of accelerated into the current season. Instead of holding on to a player for months you already know you’re going to cut, you release them in March and apply the cap advantage in June.
Players get to sign when there are roster spots and lots of cash available from other teams. Teams don’t have to pay roster bonuses or option bonuses or worry about that player getting hurt and kicking in an injury guarantee.
White’s existing cap hit was set to be $16,443,737 (per Spotrac) and that’s what it’s been sitting at since the league year opened in March. With the post-June 1 release, White’s cap hit will go down to $6.2 million in 2024, clearing roughly $10.2 million in cap space. With the move, White’s remaining $4.1 million in dead-cap money will be applied in the 2025 season.
For the Bills, this isn’t a move they’ve used a lot in the past. General manager Brandon Beane doesn’t like using the credit card to pay for current seasons if he can avoid it. He decided to use it with White’s release in the 2024 season.
The Bills used the pending transaction to spend pretty close to the cap this offseason. Here at the end of May, they have less than $1 million in available cap space according to Spotrac. The $10.2 million in space they’re adding this weekend could help them re-sign S Micah Hyde or add another player before camp and also have space for injury replacements. In 2023, the Bills added Leonard Floyd on June 5, so impact players are still available.