The Los Angeles Rams are addicted to spending in order to create their contender. The reigning Super Bowl champions are the product of a win-now philosophy that values established talent over young contributors.
While that sounds like a no-brainer, the NFL’s salary cap forces teams to balance expensive superstars and young cheap talent in order to be competitive. The Rams’ roster, however, leans much more heavily toward high-priced All-Pros. Per Spotrac, nine different players have average salaries of $10 million or more in a league where the salary cap is only $208 million.
And that was before Los Angeles added up to $95 million in guaranteed money to Aaron Donald’s existing contract. Two days later, the team rewarded 2021 offensive player of the year Cooper Kupp with a three-year, $78.5 million extension that raises his salary from $15.75 annually to $26.2 million.
So how do the Rams plan on paying all these guys and remaining cap compliant? Well, it’s a complex system of contract restructuring that pushes those cap hits further and further down the line to future years where the salary limit will be higher. Or, if the team’s chief operating officer Kevin Demoff is correct, the actual explanation is just the villain’s scheme from Superman 3:
Rams front office staff meeting last week planning for @AaronDonald97 & @CooperKupp pic.twitter.com/2rNAwcO4TQ
— Kevin Demoff (@kdemoff) June 9, 2022
That’s right, Demoff’s reaction to massive eight-figure raises for two players central to his team’s first world title since 2000 was to quote Office Space. Los Angeles’ executive team has done wonders in assembling a perennial contender and, as general manager Les Snead’s awesomely profane shirt from this winter’s Super Bowl parade shows, they’ve got a pretty solid sense of humor about it.