5 moves to free $80 million – LA Rams path to more salary cap space

Step 1 – Restructure high paid player contracts

The first step for the team would be to go after the largest contract.  Right now, that means the $36 million cap hit by quarterback Jared Goff‘s current contract. That contract alone consumes over 17 percent of the team’s 2020 allocation.   To place this into perspective, Goff’s contract is greater than the combined sum of 40 of the team’s lowest paid players.   That’s a tough concept to wrap one’s head around.

Expecting the team to struggle, we had discussed the arduous task of analyzing the team’s highly compensated contracts in a previous article.   From that restructuring exercise, we discovered a treasure trove of 2020 salary cap savings for the team available.  Of course, math rules apply, so savings for this year are simply pushed out into future years.

But the team simply does not have the ability to avoid the inevitable.  Contract restructuring is a must, and needs to happen quickly.  By reclassifying salary and bonuses due the players this year, the team can recoup over $54 million.   Place that on top of the current available space of $14 million and the Rams are up to $68 million. Oh so close, right?  We’re just getting started.