Philly Front Office

Welcome to Post June 1!!! Today is the day that contracts become much more moveable due to an accounting provision the NFL uses. Practically speaking, guys with bigger contracts are more likely to get traded or released after today because it’s easier on the salary cap. We all know something about this because today is likely T-Day for AJ Brown. Why just put all out mental attention on one player though, when we can all dream (again) on Myles Garrett? Granted, the Eagles are always linked to every big-name player because Howie Roseman scares other GMs, but let’s at least be prepared in our fantasy.

Eagles Summer Primer

Post June 1 Definition

June 1 is the day that contract bonuses can get bifurcated between this year and next year for trade and cut purposes. What does that mean? Before June 1, any move would have caused any outstanding, as-yet unaccounted for bonus to accelerate immediately to the top of the cap sheet. However, after June 1, the current year only gets this year’s pro-rated charge while the rest gets pushed to next year. For example, a signing bonus gets paid right away, but gets pro-rated over 5 years (for the most part) for salary cap purposes. If that bonus still had 3 years and $12m left but you traded or cut the player before June 1, that $12m would count for this season. By waiting until after June 1, that bonus only counts for $4m this year, while the remaining $8m goes to next year. That cap hit does not travel with the player because the original team already paid the money.

Myles Garrett’s Contract Design

Last off-season, Myles Garrett demanded a trade. Of course, he didn’t really want to be traded, he just wanted an early contract extension. It’s more lucrative to get a deal at age 29 than 31 and he knew it. Despite some Eagles fans (me included) getting our hopes up, Garrett signed a 4/$160m extension despite having 2 years left on his current 5/$125m contract. Thinking it was structured like most deals, with a high signing bonus that could be spread through the life of the deal but making it near impossible to trade, I never thought about Garrett again. I was wrong.

It turns out the deal is not like the others because the signing bonus only reached $21m. That changes everything! Instead of a huge dead salary cap figure, it will be relatively small making the contract moveable.

Now because of some old money on the deal, a trade won’t be completely painless. The Browns will still have $17.3m in signing bonus to account for, but because it is after June 1, that’s only $4.3 this season and the rest for next year. However, the big reason a deal is still possible is because the Browns sdtructured the contract to move him. How? First, he only has a $1.3m base salary. Second, his $29m option bonus for 2026 does not get exercised until a week before the season starts. If they trade him before then, they do not pay that bonus! They will owe some more dead money on the contract, but nothing that would make a deal unlikely.

Essentially, Garrett is already signed to an Eagles friendly contract.

Jonathan Bleeding Greenard

Future Cap Hits

A team that trades for Garrett is getting the following cap hits. Considering the Eagles have extensions of their own to give out so Garrett’s cap numbers are of paramount concern. Here is what the next 3 years will look like which are almost entirely guaranteed:

Year	Base	Option	Proration	Other Bonus	Cap Hit
2026	$1.3m	$29m	$5.8m	$1m	$8.1m
2027	$1.3m	$39m	$7.8m+$5.8m	$1m	$15.9m
2028	$1.3m	$21.5m	$4.3m+$7.8m+$5.8m	$1m	$20.2m

Not so bad, right? After that, things get rough. He has a $30m, non-guaranteed base salary in 2029 that would need to be restructured if he were to stick around. Why? Because base salaries are not pro-rated. Neither are roster bonuses, which he has coming to him that year in the amount of $8m. His cap hit in 2029 would already be around $26.9 without factoring in the base. A restructure would bring it to around $32.6m. A straight cut that year would mean a $52.2m dead cap hit. A post June 1 would mean $17.9m in 2029 and then $34.3m in 2030.

What Would a Trade Cost?

Earlier in the offseason, the Browns were lobbying for a rule change that would allow teams to trade draft picks 5 years down the line instead of just 3. THIS IS BECAUSE THEY WANT A TON FOR GARRETT!!! Do you see those cap hits up there? He’s comparatively cheap considering he had 23 sacks last year and still looks like the best pass rusher in football. He has had double digit sacks the last 8 years and is almost a guarantee for 15. He is also 30 years old. If the Browns want to cash in, NOW is the time to do it.

They are going to want 3 first round picks for him and maybe more. Because some teams may balk at that price for a non-QB at the end of his prime, I think we are looking at 2 firsts and a good young player. Maxx Crosby would have gone for 2 firsts, so Garrett is getting more even if he is two years older. It really just depends on how motivated the Browns are to move him.

2026 NFL Draft

If I am the Eagles, I am offering my 2027 and 2028 first rounders plus Nolan Smith and hoping that gets it done. Trading Smith would be necessary because next year he plays on his $13.75m 5th year option and would not be a viable extension candidate with Garrett, Greenard, and Jalyx Hunt around. Remember, this is basically a 3-year, all-in deal with Garrett.

No, the Eagles are not trading Jalen Carter.

Of course, there’s the AJ Brown of all this. It has been rumored that he could go to the Browns or be part of a 3-way deal that would send his draft compensation directly to Cleveland. That certainly lightens the load of a potential trade burden.

In the End

I wrote this to show that while a trade for Garrett seems like a fantasy, it is VERY realistic because of his contract. Are the Eagles really a possible destination? After trading for Jonathan Greenard, probably not. They are not the same caliber of player, but Greenard is no slouch as a #1 pass rush option. Greenard and Garrett though? Damn!

Contract Details: Spotrac

Photo: Nick Cammett/Getty Images