LA Rams RB Todd Gurley reportedly meeting with team to decide future

Uneven distribution

The LA Rams signed running back Todd Gurley to a four-year $57.5 million contract on July 25, 2018.  Per OverTheCap.com, that contract included $45 million in guarantees. Of course, there is a signing bonus, roster bonuses, and other payment clauses embedded in the contract to trigger cash from team to player.

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The Rams salary cap takes a hit from Gurley’s contract this season in the tune of $17.250 million, or over eight percent of the team’s total salary cap allotment.  To keep this in perspective, the Rams have more money tied up in a running back than they have earmarked for the entire offensive line blocking for him. That’s where the team is running into problems.

Many NFL team avoid this uneven distribution by defining how much of the annual salary cap the team can spend on a role or position of the team.  While that eliminates paying top dollar for the best in slot player, it keeps overeager NFL general managers from committing too much of the teams payroll into too few hands.

The Rams would benefit from a better distribution of the team’s salary cap dollars.  Underpaying the offensive line, the basic foundation of a good running or passing, seems very myopic to the long term success of the team.  The team is now trying to correct that unevenness.  Meeting with Gurley is one step to doing so.

So what can be done at this meeting? Well lets discuss how the team can remedy Todd Gurley’s contract going forward.