With the CBA now permitting each team to cut two players per year before June 1 and to treat the transaction for cap purposes as a post-June 1 move, there’s confusion as to whether a team can trade a guy before June 1 and treat the move for cap purposes as something done after June 1.

The uncertainty has been exacerbated by items from other media outlets suggesting that, for example, the Giants could trade tight end Jeremy Shockey prior to June 1 and pretend that the trade happened after June 1.

In the interests of clarity, the relatively new ability to cut a guy prior to June 1 and then treat the move as a post-June 1 move DOES NOT APPLY to trades. 

Prior to June 1, a trade or a release requires the team to take the full acceleration for any remaining signing bonus money and other prorated payments.  After June 1, either move requires the team to carry the cap proration that would have applied if the player were on the team that season, and then to take the rest of the cap hit in the next cap year.

Before the 2006 amendments to the CBA, a trade always resulted in a full acceleration.  And that’s one of the reasons why not many trades happened.