Packers receive significant salary cap boost after big post-June 1 release

It's hard to fault Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst for his offseason work.

Despite building a talented, young roster that reached the NFC's final four last season, the Packers entered the offseason with several tough decisions. Particularly when it came to determining which veterans on big contracts would return.

De'Vondre Campbell became a first-team All-Pro in Green Bay but has taken any opportunity to throw the team under the bus since leaving this offseason. The Packers smartly moved on from Campbell after a disappointing year, a move that significantly helped the salary cap.

Green Bay then drafted Edgerrin Cooper and Ty'Ron Hopper with hopes they can fill the void alongside Quay Walker and Isaiah McDuffie.

Despite releasing Campbell three months ago, they are only now receiving the salary cap benefits.

How making De'Vondre Campbell a post-June 1 release helps the Packers

Campbell had a cap hit of $14.23 million at the start of the offseason. Green Bay opted to release him post-June 1, spreading the dead money across the next two years.

The Packers get a significant benefit this year. They pay only $3.66 million in dead money in 2024, which rises to $7.97 million in 2025. Both are manageable numbers.

Due to their decision to make it a post-June 1 release, the Packers didn't receive any cap savings before that date, so it didn't help with their free agency moves. Now that we are beyond June 1, the Packers have skyrocketed up the NFL standings for cap space in 2024. Per Over The Cap, Green Bay has $30.38 million available, the seventh-most in the league.

The additional space will help cover the upcoming Jordan Love extension while also giving the Packers the flexibility to add players over the summer or during the regular season.

They can then roll some of their remaining cap space into 2025 to help with free agency.

The downside of spreading the dead cap hits from Campbell's release over two seasons is that they will pay $7.97 million next year. However, the additional cap savings in the short term could help them with Love's extension. They could front-load it to take on more of a cap hit this year and create more flexibility down the line.

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