Here is the applicable clause from the CBA:
June 1 – Clubs may select up to two players each year who may be released before June 1 to sign with another club, but whose salary cap amount is still carried with the prior club until June 1 (such salary cap amount shall not reflect any renegotiation of the player’s contract that occurred after the last regular season game of the prior season).
http://www.nflpa.org/pdfs/CBA/2006_C...Term_Sheet.pdf
Essentially, the June 1 exemption is primarily a benefit the players by allowing them to due enter the FA market before offers dried up. It does allow teams to avoid roster bonuses. Also, if it was done differently, the teams could gain something of a competitive advantage b/c they would, essentially be able to spread the cap savings over more than 2 years. While it would only be by a few months, the months in question would be extremely important b/c they would include the opening of FA biddig.
What I don't know is the effect of post-cut, pre-June 1st roster bonuses. Since the player doesn't collect them, is the salary cap hit figured without them? Or, b/c the roster bonuses are contractually effective prior to June 1, are they figured into the cap hit even if not actually collected?
Since post-season renogotiations are essentially voided by a June 1 designation -it seems to me that the June 1 designation was intended to hold teams to their contractually created salary cap plans, even if the players being cut no longer benefits from those plans. If true, that would seem to me to indicate that uncollected roster bonuses
would be included in calculating the salary cap hit of a June 1 designation cut.