Over the weekend, the Green Bay Packers’ release of former linebacker De’Vondre Campbell was officially put to bed when Campbell’s post-June 1 cap hold came off the team’s books. The Packers used one of their available post-June 1 designations on the linebacker earlier this offseason.
A post-June 1 release allows a team to spread a player’s dead cap (their guaranteed salary plus the previously paid signing bonus that has yet to hit the cap) over multiple seasons while allowing the player to hit free agency immediately. The only catch is that the club has to account for the player’s contract until June 1st, when it finally comes off the books.
This is how the Packers recently gained $9.66 million in cap space — the difference between Campbell’s 2024 cap charge prior to his release and the next man up on the offseason 51-player cap hold. In the offseason, NFL teams don’t have to stay under the cap with their entire 90-man roster. Instead, the league only counts the 51 most expensive players on each franchise’s team.
At the moment, the Packers have the seventh-most cap space in the league, per Spotrac. According to their numbers, Green Bay has $28.9 million to play with before the start of the regular season, when the full 53-man roster, practice squad and injured reserve will count against the Packers’ accounting. Per cap analyst Ken Ingalls, first-round pick Jordan Morgan and second-round pick Javon Bullard, the only two rookie draft picks who have yet to sign a deal with Green Bay thus far, will count around $1.97 million against the team’s 2024 salary cap.
Spotrac also lists the Packers as the lowest-spending team in the NFL this year with just $212.2 million in cash set to be spent. For perspective, the Cleveland Browns are set to spend north of $100 million more than Green Bay at $340.5 million.
With that being said, one of the only ways that the Packers can create more immediate cap space is by extending veteran defensive tackle Kenny Clark, who is in a contract year. On top of that, everyone expects quarterback Jordan Love to sign a megadeal, worth more than $50 million per year, before the regular season kicks off. So while Green Bay hasn’t spent much money yet, it would be surprising if the 2024 Packers finished the season in last space for cash spending.