NFL Moves Up June-1 Release Date To May 12

Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk is reporting that the NFL has made the decision to move up the June-1 release date to May 12.

NFL teams have had the option to release players after June 1, which ultimately increases their savings. It’s also worth mentioning that signing players after June 1 first don’t count against the compensatory draft-pick formula

The downside with designating players as June 1 cuts is that they don’t receive the added cap space until that point in the offseason.

By then, free agency has already played out and teams have added players through the draft, so their rosters are well stocked for the most part.

By changing the date to May 12, the NFL will give free agents a better shot at signing on with a new team before the start of offseason workouts and in turn allowing teams to fill out their rosters without impacting their compensatory picks.

Overall, it seems like an obvious change to make given that teams and players will both benefit from the May 12 date.