The post-June 1 designation date for player releases in the NFL has officially passed, meaning that the salary cap numbers for each team are in. As of June 4, the Carolina Panthers have the second-most available cap space in the league, with $25,063,534 left to spend according to Over The Cap.
Prior to June 1, NFL teams must pay any player released or traded their remaining salary cap allocation that offseason. That means that if a player carries a $1 million cap hit every season for the next five seasons, but their team releases them before June 1, the team must pay them all $5 million in this league year. That amount is referred to as “dead money.”
After June 1, though, the dead money is split between seasons. Using the previous example, the team would owe the released player their $1 million cap hit this season but wouldn’t have to pay the remaining $4 million until the next league year.
Essentially, it’s important to wait until after June 1 to calculate available cap space. Now, on June 4, Carolina (officially) has a lot of it.
Much of that comes from the Panthers’ push to acquire a quarterback before the draft. Amid multiple allegations of sexual misconduct, Carolina expressed heavy interest in acquiring Deshaun Watson via trade from the Texans. Of course, the Cleveland Browns wound up trading for Watson, but the Panthers cleared up millions in space to allow them to pursue the quarterback.
Carolina also inked some bargain free agents this offseason, landing talented players on team-friendly contracts. General manager Scott Fitterer focused on improving the interior lines, adding linemen Austin Corbett and Bradley Bozeman on the offensive side and Matt Ioannidis on the defensive side. Even after signing those players and all of their 2022 draft picks, the Panthers still have over $25 million to spend.
It’s easy to say that Samir Suleiman, Carolina’s recently promoted salary cap manager, set the Panthers up for success financially. Now, we’ll see if the coaches and players can deliver on the field.
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