This is exactly when the Patriots can trade with the Eagles for A.J. Brown originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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Everyone has heard about the June 1 date involved in the A.J. Brown trade saga by now.
But that’s a whole day. When can the New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles actually get down to business?
There’s a bit of a nuanced answer here, actually. And while there’s no rush, anyone watching the calendar and the clock has multiple things to pay attention to.
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When can the trade happen?
As soon as June 1 arrives, a deal could be announced. The teams would then just denote it as a post-June 1 designation, meaning it won’t actually go onto the books until June 2.
There isn’t a ton of incentive one way or the other to do that, given that this is a deal the league seems to think is coming, but it’s an option.
There’s also a report from NFL writer Bobby Thompson that anytime after 4:01 p.m. on June 1 essentially counts as the next day, but that hasn’t been reported elsewhere:
#Patriots and #Eagles are in communication on trade compensation for WR AJ Brown and are confident a deal will be reached by tomorrow (June 1st) after the 4:01pm window
— Bobby Thompson (@BThomps81) May 31, 2026
The 4:01 p.m. does matter for other transaction windows, but it’s not clear whether it applies here.
Regardless, it’s late spring. There’s plenty of time.
The Pats and Eagles very possibly have known what they’re doing for a while. The Eagles need to wait until the post-June 1 timeline to help their salary cap situation. The only thing that would be surprising at this point is if Brown plays the 2026 season somewhere other than New England.