What does the new CBA mean for the LA Rams in 2020?

When the NFL Players Association approved the new NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement, everything in the NFL changed. What does that mean for the LA Rams?

The LA Rams are in the midst of rapidly changing times. One such rapid change occurred when the NFL Players Association, the NFLPA, voted to approve the new NFL CBA which takes effect immediately. Well, most components take effect immediately. The most controversial term of the new CBA, the 17th game, will not occur until 2021 at the earliest. So what are the major pieces to affect the NFL, and more specifically, the LA Rams?

Now that the new NFL CBA has been ratified by both the NFL owners and the NFLPA, we have a moment to digest what it all means.  This agreement was critical to both owners and players, as broadcast rights will be renegotiated this year. So for the financial concerns alone, both sides had plenty of incentives to ratify the contract now, rather than later.

What could that mean for finances alone? Well, the latest projections for the 2021 salary cap are a tremendous bump up to $240 million or more. That itself would push the current contracts signed by the LA Rams to a more midpoint than the top of the class for the quarterback, wide receiver, or running back positions.  And that extra bump will give the LA Rams plenty of room to operate to sign 2021 projected free agents like Cooper Kupp, Jalen Ramsey, and others. All thanks to the new CBA.

Well, there is plenty to digest, plenty to like, and perhaps some pieces to not like. But the scope of this agreement, tied to the future of the NFL for the next ten years, was a massive undertaking. So let’s get to it, shall we?

More games = more money

First of all, the NFL’s agreement was intended to package more events before entering into negotiations for televised rights, so the most controversial pieces are the pieces we’ll focus on initially.  One immediate effect is the NFL Playoff picture.  The new NFL CBA expands the NFL playoff teams from 12 to 14 teams.  That creates a new “bracket” for playoff teams and eliminates one team from a bye week.

The top-ranked team will keep their bye week, but the second-ranked team will now host the seventh-ranked team.  As before, the third-ranked team will host the sixth-ranked team. and the fourth-ranked team will host the fifth-ranked team.

The net effect of the new configuration is to add a playoff game to the first NFL playoff weekend. Had this been in effect in 2019, the LA Rams would have been in the playoffs. C’est la vie!

The more controversial term for the NFL and the biggest challenge to the NFL players is the introduction of the 17th regular-season game. While that is one of the key elements to significantly higher revenue for the NFL teams and players alike, it will not kick in until 2021. Why is the NFL adding games to the regular season as well as the playoffs?

Well, more games give the NFL a much better advantage in terms of negotiations with televised broadcast contracts. Even if networks balk at paying more per game (they won’t), the NFL has the fact that football will package more games. Just by adding one more regular-season game, the NFL adds over 6 percent to the revenue base. The addition of one more playoff game improves postseason by 20 percent.

More playoff games = more opportunity

So the NFL will now allow 7 teams to enter the annual playoffs. How will that work? In recent years, the NFC and AFC advanced six teams into the playoffs.  The top two teams earned a bye week, while the other four teams competed to advance.

In this new format, the NFL will allow only the top-ranked team in each conference to advance as a bye week. Teams ranked two through seven will compete on the field of play, with the second-ranked team hosting the seventh, the third-ranked team hosting the sixth, and the fourth-ranked team hosting the fifth. Keep in mind that division winners will always hold a higher rank than wild-card teams.

So if this format had been enforced in 2019, the LA Rams would have traveled to Green Bay to face the second-ranked Packers in the opening round of the NFL Playoffs. While the Rams would have been underdogs, it would have been fun seeing the Rams have a chance to compete in post-season one more time.

More players = more depth

One of the most impactful parts of the new collective bargaining agreement is the increase of roster depth from a 53-man roster to a 55-man roster, plus the added bonus of increasing the practice squad size from 10 players to 12 players in 2020 and 2021, up to the new 14 player limit in 2022. And game day rosters will increase from the current 46 man roster to 48 players.  Teams can promote up to two practice squad players per week up to the team roster. Those players can be sent back to the practice squad two times before the player will need to clear waivers.

So what does that mean to the LA Rams in 2020? Plenty! Per Over The Cap.com, the LA Rams have 60 players under contract. With a training camp limit of 90 players, the team will be looking to add 30 more players.  Of course, the first place to shop will be the 2020 NFL Draft, and the current six selections to be made.

After that draft, the team will need to fill the ranks with undrafted free agents to get to 90. Since the team does have openings in the roster, undrafted free agents can be expected to fill as many as five roster holes for the team this year. And without a returning kicker Greg Zuerlein, the Rams’ highest-profile signing after the 2020 NFL Draft will likely be a kicker or two.

But while the Rams will seek quality after the 2020 NFL Draft, do not ignore the need for quantity either. If the Rams stand pat on their draft picks, the team will look to sign 24 undrafted free agents this year. Many of those have a serious chance to land on the practice squad.  In probability? The Rams 63 players out of 90 improve to 69 players out of 90 or 6.7 percent. The additional six positions will give the team added flexibility to carry an additional offensive lineman, defensive lineman, linebacker, defensive back, running back, quarterback, and wide receiver on either the roster or practice squad.

More games = higher salary cap

The new collective bargaining agreement will distribute a larger share of the NFL’s total revenue with players.  The former agreement capped revenue sharing at 46 percent, but the new agreement raises that to 47 percent in 2020, and up even further to 48 percent in 2021. Should the league adopt a 17 game season, that number will increase to 48.5 percent share of the league’s revenue.

What can that mean for the LA Rams? Simply stated, salary cap relief, of sorts. Some estimates project the 2021 NFL salary cap at or about $240 million. While that is not a certainty, it is the best guesstimate of the new NFL television contracts combined with more regular-season games plus more playoff games. And it’s not a quick-fix to the Rams salary cap challenges, as the 2021 salary cap increase appears to have been factored into the LA Rams contracts already.

Part of the salary cap increase will have a serious impact on the LA Rams. Minimum salaries will increase rapidly. 36 of the current 60 players on the Rams roster are earning less than $1 million this year. These players will see their salary increase rapidly each year over the next ten years to be well over the $1 million thresholds.

One lesser-known fact is the “Veterans Salary Benefit” which will allow a team to re-sign up to two of their veteran (up to four years of service) players per year and exclude up to $1.25 million of the player’s base salary from the salary cap calculation.  So for the LA Rams using 2019 as an example, the team would have been able to exclude $1.25 million by signing Austin Blythe to a one-year deal. If the team elects to do so, that $1.25 million can be split between two players. The VSB increases slightly each year.

The actual agreement is over 456 pages, and is written in “Legalize” language., so it will take some time to read, digest, and highlight important features of the new agreement. But these cover some of the more immediate and significant changes to the NFL, and the LA Rams, in the weeks ahead.