Considering the Los Angeles Rams’ salary cap situation, and with five starters set to hit free agency, it would seem like a no-brainer for them to free up money wherever possible. After all, they’re projected to have just under $15 million in cap space this offseason, which doesn’t include a $5.25 million savings from Eric Weddle retiring.
They have a chance to free up $16.8 million in cap space by restructuring Jared Goff’s contract, nearly doubling their available spending money for 2020. Of course, that newfound money has to come from somewhere, as it doesn’t just appear out of thin air.
By restructuring Goff’s deal, it would take his signing bonus and spread it out over the remainder of his contract, which has four years on it after the 2020 season. In doing so, it becomes more difficult to get out of his contract, should the Rams want to down the road.
General manager Les Snead explained why restructuring Goff’s deal isn’t as certain to happen as it seems.
“When you open up a contract to get cap space today, what it will do eventually is take more cap space than the original contract takes up now in future years,” he said on the Rams Revealed podcast. “So let’s say his cap space is $100 for the next five years. If you open up that $100 today and put it in signing bonus, we now have to spread that $100 over the next four years. So ultimately, cap space goes from $100 for his next four years to $125. Very simple math. Eventually, it’s a short-term solution – again, 2020 is important – but you’ve heard the deal ‘kick the can down the road.’ That’s ultimately trying to put in math what that means.”
The Rams would like to keep Dante Fowler Jr., Cory Littleton, Andrew Whitworth, Michael Brockers and even Austin Blythe. That’s no financially possible with $20 million in cap space, unless all of them take very little money on the front end in 2020.
Even restructuring Goff’s deal would make it extremely tough to keep all five, but it would make it more feasible to re-sign two or three instead of maybe only one. But as Snead points out, restructures hinder teams in the future.
“You just give it to him in signing bonus because you know he’s going to be here. And now you then spread out the cap charge over the next four years. So if you create cap space today, you’re going to be hindering yourself in the future,” he said. “Sound decision is, at some point you’re going to have to determine what year do you take the pain. So that’s what you weigh.”
In many fans’ minds, the opportunity to free up cap space now to bolster the roster is impossible to pass up. But if the Rams do that by restructuring Goff’s contract, it puts more money on the cap in future years and makes it tougher to sign players down the line.
“I know today, we’re all going to get emotional and go, ‘Oh, no no no, just worry about ’20.’ But when ’20 is gone and it’s over and we’re never getting 2020 back again, then we do know that 2021 will become a priority. And at that point, you’re like, ‘Well, what do you mean? Why’d you do that? That was not the wise, sound thing to do,’” Snead explained.
One argument in favor of restructuring Goff’s deal that may get overlooked is the fact that a new CBA is coming. With it, the salary cap could reportedly spike to $240 million in 2021 after being set at $200 this year.
If the Rams truly want to go after one of the top free agents this offseason and need the money to do so, they can push Goff’s money back when the salary cap will be higher and worry about it later.
But with the way Snead is talking, it seems there’s a decent chance the Rams will pass on this chance and keep Goff’s deal as-is.