3 reasons why the LA Rams will not deal for Jets S Jamal Adams

No salary cap space for Adams

The LA Rams have a short shopping list as is, and that list will pretty much focus on paying currently rostered players for the next several years.  It’s no secret that the Rams struggled mightily in 2020 to pay for everyone on the roster. And it’s no secret that the Rams had mortgaged today’s finances when the team made significant financial commitments to RB Todd Gurley, WR Brandin Cooks, QB Todd Gurley, and DL Aaron Donald.  Of that group, only Aaron Donald gave the Rams what they paid for.

But 2020 did not have money to pay for ILB Cory Littleton, OLB Dante Fowler Jr., and even CB Nickell Roby-Coleman. So they found teams with the money to pay for their services. And that struggle to find funds to pay for star football players will only get worse as salary expectations of NFL stars escalate.

Tight budget alert!

Even as the NFL sorts through the physical challenges of a coronavirus pandemic in 2020, perhaps the greater challenge is in the fiscal challenges of 2021.  We know that Dr. Anthony Fauci warns that no NFL football remains a possibility for 2020.  We also know that Forbes has projected the NFL to lose $5.5 billion if the league is forced to play a 17-week schedule without fans. That breaks down to losing $401 million for the LA Rams. While nobody has determined what that could mean for the 2021 NFL salary cap, we can agree that it won’t be good.

Now imagine what happens if the NFL games are not played at all. That not only becomes a nightmare of logistics for 2020 but the hangover into 2021 is beyond rational perception at this point. All of which simply increases the level of uncertainty.  And uncertainty eliminates any incentive to make long term financial commitments.