NFL June 1 Designations: AJ Brown, Brandon Aiyuk, Salary Cap Space, and Top Free Agents

The NFL contract rules have a lot of complicated caveats. More than even the most die-hard fans need to dig into, quite frankly. But there is one very interesting mechanic in the NFL June 1 release designations that is coming up very soon. It not only matters for players who have been released already with the designation and money coming in, but also some key trade candidates, like the A.J. Brown and Brandon Aiyuk rumors.

So, with the deadline looming coming out of the weekend, we figured today would be a good time to lay out everything that you need to know regarding NFL June 1 designations for 2026. We’ll discuss what it actually is. We’ll talk about the NFL teams that used the June 1 designations (and on what players). We’ll hit on the trade candidates, the cut candidates, and the free agents. 

And, because I’m the one writing the article, we’ll also talk about my favorite aspect - the ramifications for fantasy football leagues. We just did a full update to the best ball cheat sheet and released our first batch of 2026 fantasy football redraft rankings. Moves made following the deadline could have long term impact on our dynasty fantasy football rankings as well. So let's dive in now and discuss what the possible ramifications could be!

What are NFL June 1 Designations?

Post-June 1 designations or post-June 1 cuts, as they are often called, are a salary cap tool implemented by the league in 2006 to help teams ease the transition into the new league year. June 1 is a key date in that releasing a player before then forces all the prorated signing bonuses and other dead money to accelerate and be counted towards the current year. Conversely, if you wait until after that date, the money can be spread between the current year and the following year.

That encouraged teams to wait until then to cut players, especially high-cap ones. But that hurt the players as they missed the main free agency period. So the league decided to allow for each team to designate up to two players as “post June-1 cuts” in the spring. That way, they can cut them, the player can find a new home, but they can still get the cap benefit on June 2nd. Not every team utilizes them every year, and if you do use the two designations, you can still cut more players after June 2. You also cannot use the designations for trades, so any trades have to actually be done after the June 1 deadline.  

What NFL Teams Used June 1 Designations?

Per Spotrac, here are the players who were cut with a June 1 designation in 2026, in order of the June 2 savings the team will have. 

NFL Teams With The Most Salary Cap Space After June 1 

For some teams, they aren’t freeing up a meaningful amount of money here, like the Browns. The Packers, Broncos, and Falcons actually already have $18M-$19M in cap space available, so it will be interesting to see if maybe they are waiting to use the extra money and make one big splash (the Falcons aren’t really getting a meaningful amount, but the Broncos and Packers are).   

The Vikings ($3.5M in space) and Dolphins ($1M) are both right up against the cap so the money coming in does allow them some leeway. One key difference is that the Vikings have signed all nine of their rookies to contracts already, while the Dolphins have not. The Dolphins likely need about $10M of that cap space to sign those rookies, so they won’t have the full $20M to sign additional free agents. Throughout this article, we’ll reference a number of moves they could do. 

Biggest Names Tied To June 1 Rumors For Fantasy Football

A.J. Brown Rumors and Current Situation

A.J. Brown is the top trade candidate who has been tied to June 1. To put things in perspective, if the Eagles had traded A.J. Brown before June 1, they would have incurred a $25.6M cap hit for this season. Waiting until after, they actually save $1.5M for this season with $27M going to next season. A massive difference in NFL accounting.

They have long been tied to the New England Patriots, though recent comments from Ian Rappoport suggest the Patriots might not be willing to give up a first-round pick, which has the teams far apart. It seems more possible than ever that A.J. Brown could either remain an Eagle or another team could swoop in and grab him. There have been rumors tied to a number of other teams like the Chiefs, Bills, Rams, Jaguars, Chargers, and Ravens, so we don’t know for sure how things will shake out.

Brandon Aiyuk Rumors and Current Situation

Brandon Aiyuk could serve as the consolation prize for the team that doesn’t get AJ Brown. It’s a high-risk, high-reward play as Aiyuk is a great player when healthy, but he has not been particularly healthy, and there are also character issues at bay. After the 49ers decided to void his guarantees because of a contract violation related to his rehab from injury, he basically ghosted all contact with the team from last October onward. 

All of that hurts the leverage in trade negotiations for San Francisco, as teams obviously know that he doesn’t want to be there. At the same time, Kyle Shanahan knows how valuable he is and is in “no rush” to move him. Much like AJ Brown, trading him before June 1 would have a nearly $20M cap hit, while trading him after brings $1.3M in relief. They don’t have to make a decision on cutting him or not until his option bonus is due on September 1. They could have used a June 1 designation to release him at any point before now, if they wanted to.

As the guarantees have been voided, the contract is fairly acquirable via trade. He only has a $1.215M base salary with an option bonus that would bring the total cap hit for this year to around $10M per Michael Ginnitti of Spotrac. That not only should have the losers from the AJ Brown sweepstakes interested, but also other teams with ties to Brandon Aiyuk, like the Washington Commanders (college teammates with Jayden Daniels) or even the Miami Dolphins (Aiyuk played under Bobby Slowik in 2023).

Best Remaining NFL Free Agents For Fantasy Football

Stefon Diggs, WR

Diggs came off an ACL last year to put up over 80 catches and 1,000 yards. The slot receiver was cleared of off-field concerns and should find a suitor.

Tyreek Hill, WR 

Injuries and character concerns are obviously looming. But the risk could be worth it for the upside that Hill brings on the field if he can get back close to 100%. In fact, he doesn’t need to be 100% to help a team stretch the field. 

Deebo Samuel, WR 

Samuel has been a “jack of all trades” in the NFL, logging 35 or more carries in four different seasons, and has 21 rushing TDs on top of his receiving production. He still offers utility out of the slot with some gadget upside. He also has ties to the Dolphins and Bobby Slowik from his 49ers days. 

Keenan Allen, WR 

Allen quietly led the Chargers in targets and receptions last year and says he wants to play again. A reunion is not off the table. 

Najee Harris, RB 

Harris has been posting videos rehabbing from injury with hopes he can catch on somewhere. Maybe the Packers will opt for some insurance after the Josh Jacobs incident though no criminal charges have been filed.

Joe Mixon, RB 

A mysterious foot injury derailed his whole 2025 season. But maybe someone out there will be willing to take a shot on him. 

Jonnu Smith, TE 

Smith had a late career resurgence with Miami before being traded to Pittsburgh. A team like Miami is thin at tight end, so maybe they could consider a reunion.

Darren Waller, TE 

Darren Waller made his NFL comeback with Miami last year and was surprisingly productive before being hurt once again. Miami does have some money coming in, so that’s a situation to watch as well.

Zach Ertz, TE

Ertz has been “old reliable” out of the slot for a number of teams, but he’s coming off a serious injury. He says he plans to play in 2026, though his injury occurred late in the year in Week 14.

Russell Wilson, QB 

In terms of quarterbacks who could actually compete for a starting job somewhere, Wilson is probably the most capable. The Cardinals are having contract issues with Jacoby Brissett and are probably the last remaining team that might consider something like this. Otherwise, he might be waiting for an injury to get a shot.

Potential NFL Cap Casualties To Watch for Fantasy Football

Anthony Richardson, QB, Indianapolis Colts

The athletic QB has requested a trade, though he has reported to offseason workouts. If he is granted his wish, it would be after the June 2 deadline.

Alvin Kamara, RB, New Orleans Saints

The Saints signed Travis Ettienne, so the writing is on the wall for the fantasy superstar. They could save around $8.5M by releasing or trading him.

James Conner, RB, Arizona Cardinals

This actually applies to pretty much anyone not named Jeremiyah Love as they build a solid RB room before drafting the star RB at three overall. Now one of Conner, Trey Benson, or Tyler Allgeier could be on the trade block. 

Tony Pollard, RB, Tennessee Titans

I don’t really expect this one after how he performed last year, plus the Titans have the second-most cap space of any team. But they would save $7.2M with very little dead cap.

Tank Dell, WR, Houston Texans

He will not be released as there is no difference in releasing him before or after June 1. But there is one specific trade destination that could be on the table, which is the Miami Dolphins and former coach Bobby Slowik. They couldn’t trade for him before due to cap restrictions, but they will have the money after June 1. 

Jalin Hyatt, WR, New York Giants

The former Belitnikoff award winner never really carved out a role with the Giants. They could let him find a fresh start somewhere by releasing him with $1.5M in savings, only $272M in dead cap. 

Cole Kmet, TE, Chicago Bears

There is no reason to cut Kmet as he plays his inline TE role well, and there is no cap benefit to doing so. But, after drafting Colston Loveland and Sam Roush, Kmet is a trade candidate. They could get out of his contract with some cap relief by trading him after June 2. 

Fantasy Football Winners and Losers To Watch After June 1 Designations 

We won’t know the winners and losers until the moves are actually done. And there’s no real reason to rush them, so we may have to wait. But it really isn’t that hard to use your imagination to figure out who the winners and losers of these deals might be.

For instance, quarterbacks are easy winners and losers depending on who they lose or gain. An A.J. Brown trade to New England is obviously bad for Jalen Hurts, but great news for Drake Maye. Running back situations are also fairly obvious. It would be great news for Travis Etienne if pass-catching back Alvin Kamara were no longer in town. And, wherever he lands, he hurts the incumbents.

With pass-catchers, we need to figure out where our guy is on the pecking order. If you are Terry McLaurin, for instance, and the team adds another wide receiver, you are still clearly a top two target on the team. But that is going to hurt the upside of ancillary pieces like Chig Okonkwo or rookie Antonio Williams. With teams like the Dolphins, anyone coming in is likely to be the best pass-catcher on the team. Otherwise, guys like Greg Dulcich or Malik Washington could be sneaky winners.