There’s no doubt the Los Angeles Rams’ blockbuster trade for Matthew Stafford last year worked out as he guided the organization to a Super Bowl win in his first season.
Now, Stafford is getting set to enter the final year of his contract and extending him is one of the Rams’ top priorities this offseason.
It won’t come cheap though considering Stafford is coming off an outstanding season that he capped off with a brilliant postseason run.
According to Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic, Stafford’s extension could be for as much as $45 million annually, although there are a lot of other factors at play that could decide how much he makes in order to keep some other free agents as well:
• One league source said Stafford’s deal could go as high as $45 million per year — adding that, in light of expected cap inflation over the next few years and the expectation that the Rams would do something creative to the core of the contract structure to make it more roster-friendly, that number is a lot less scary than it used to be. The reported hard-line salary expectations from Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins (he has a $45 million cap number in 2022 from which he isn’t likely to budge) and the continued reporting that Raiders quarterback Derek Carr may be looking for an extension that averages around $40 million per year could present a range of possible initial numbers floated by Stafford’s representation.
• Others said that, regardless of the initial asks, they would be surprised if Stafford’s overall deal netted $45 million a year — but also would be just as surprised if it were less than $40 million per year.
• The Rams could, and likely will try, to keep that annual number closer to (or even under) $35 million per year.
• Many among those surveyed said that three or four years was a realistic frame for Stafford’s extension. That is even more interesting in the context of television networks’ high-dollar interest in someday signing McVay as an analyst (something he has admitted he would certainly want to do at some point). There’s a sense that McVay, who adores working with Stafford, is committed to his quarterback while he’s on the roster and while it seems imminent that McVay one day will take a break from coaching, a Stafford extension could hint at McVay’s own timeline for doing so.
McVay reiterated last week during his virtual press conference that he’s committed to the Rams and to coaching right now. He and Snead are also able to be extended (their current alignment runs through 2023) but I didn’t get the sense that either of them had much movement in that regard just yet.
• Both McVay and Snead expressed how high a priority Stafford (and Donald) contracts are; however, I don’t feel a sense of overwhelming urgency from the team to rush through the process. There are some benefits to being “first” in the market when making new deals, including that others could then use the initial number as a baseline and the deal looks more team-friendly as time passes and others get done, but the Rams are less worried about that than getting it right as it specifically pertains to their own build.
• One well-placed source brought up Stafford’s own personality as an underrated, and large, factor in the negotiation process. Stafford won’t argue his own deal, obviously, but he does get the final say. Stafford has demonstrated a clear and public interest in how the Rams’ team-build works and functions as an interdependent ecosystem, and so he’ll be well-aware of what any financial savings on his contract could provide to other teammates as the Rams try to “run it back”. There’s also not a sense from the team that he’s personally about making financial demands, and while $45 million is a really popular number among quarterbacks/negotiators right now, his representation also has experience with structuring deals that help the team build (they previously did so for Drew Brees and the Saints).
This is a lot of take in, but perhaps the most important part is that if the Rams do indeed give Stafford $45 million annually, that is not as big of a number as it used to be with the NFL salary cap continuing to rise.
In addition to Stafford, the Rams also have hopes of re-signing Von Miller and Odell Beckham Jr. while also extending Aaron Donald, so Les Snead will have to get creative, as he has done so many times in the past, in order to make that all work.
Donald has been vocal about wanting to run it back to help the Rams defend their title, although only if they are able to bring back other key pieces as well.
