It’s June 1, And It’s Big Day for Packers’ Salary Cap

It’s June 1, and that means this is the final day in which Nate Hobbs and Brandon McManus are financially part of the Green Bay Packers.

Hobbs was released near the start of free agency, part of the team’s rebuild at cornerback, and McManus was released in the wake of the drafting of Trey Smack. The Packers released both with June 1 designations, meaning they no longer had a place in the locker room but they did have a prominent place on the salary cap.

Now that it’s June 1, this marks the final day the contracts are on the books.

Sort of.

Hobbs signed a four-year, $48 million contract in free agency last offseason. He was set to have salary-cap charges of about $12.84 million in 2026, $14.05 million in 2027 and $14.7 million in 2028. After an abysmal, injury-plagued debut season, the Packers released him rather than pay him a $6.25 million roster bonus.

Outright releasing him would have dumped $12.0 million on this year’s salary cap. Instead, by using the June 1 designation, the Packers were able to divide that bitter pill into two slightly less bitter pills. Hobbs will count $4 million on this year’s cap and $8 million on next year’s cap.

McManus had cap numbers of about $5.28 million in 2026 and $6.27 million in 2027. After an abysmal playoff game, the Packers paid his $1 million roster bonus but traded up to draft Smack.

The Packers released McManus to be “fair” to the veteran kicker, coach Matt LaFleur said at OTAs last week, rather than have him challenge Smack, who was drafted, obviously, to win the job.

“I think we were just trying to put Trey in the best position possible moving forward, and he’s going to get the bulk of it,” LaFleur said.

Cap Savings for Packers

The dead-money charges of doing McManus the favor of cutting him loose are about $2.67 million in 2026 and about $1.67 million in 2027.

The Packers rank third in the NFL in June 1 savings, according to OverTheCap.com, at almost $11.5 million.

“Hobbs’ 2026 cap number will drop by $8.8 million from $12.8 to $4 million. The team will carry $8 million in dead money in 2027 for Hobbs,” OTC’s Jason Fitzgerald wrote. “The situation with McManus was weird with the team paying him $1 million and then pivoting off him following the draft. …

“The Packers did not have cap issues, which made both of these a bit surprising, but I guess they saw the value in having more 2026 flexibility.

The flexibility comes in the Packers presumably using the savings to help fund potential contract extensions for Christian Watson, Tucker Kraft and Devonte Wyatt. They also could dive back into free agency or swing a trade.

Green Bay Packers kicker Brandon McManus (17) reacts after missing a field goal against the Chicago Bears. | Matt Marton-Imagn Images

Using June 1 accounting and with the big cap charges for Hobbs and McManus taken off the ledger, the Packers are about $27.5 million under the salary cap, according to Spotrac. That’s the 11th-most cap space.

Whatever money isn’t used this season can be carried over into next season. That will be huge, because the Packers will face some financial challenges next offseason.

While they are just less than $25.0 million under the projected 2027 salary cap, that doesn’t include the financial costs of retaining Kraft, Watson and Wyatt, who are far and away the team’s best upcoming free agents and will be expensive to retain.

The team’s other free agents include cornerbacks Keisean Nixon and Carrington Valentine, both of whom could be let go after the Packers signed Benjamin St-Juste and drafted Brandon Cisse and Domani Jackson. Defensive tackle Karl Brooks, linebacker Isaiah McDuffie, offensive tackle Darian Kinnard and tight ends Luke Musgrave and Josh Whyle all could be inexpensive or expendable.

Dead Money on Packers’ Cap

Dumping Hobbs and McManus added to Green Bay’s mountain of dead cap. This year’s salary cap is $301.2 million. The Packers have almost $46 million of dead cap – cap dollars devoted to players no longer on the roster – meaning 15.25 percent of the cap is being consumed by players who will be in other uniforms this season. That’s the 11th-most dead money in the league.

Rashan Gary and Kenny Clark, both of whom were traded to Dallas, have dead-money charges of just over $17 million apiece.

The Dolphins are in a league of their own from that regard. The rebuild being supervised by former Packers executive Jon-Eric Sullivan includes $179.2 million in dead cap. That’s more than half of their salary cap. The Saints and Jets are just over $110 million. Green Bay will play all three teams this season.

In the NFC North, the Vikings are just behind Green Bay with about $45.1 million in dead money. The Lions ($26.5 million) and Bears ($20.2 million) combined have barely more dead money than the Packers.

The Super Bowl-champion Seahawks have just $623,724, according to Spotrac, an obvious sign of a talented and well-constructed roster.

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