LA Rams News: NFL-NFLPA agreement has huge salary cap windfall

LA Rams News: NFL-NFLPA agreement has a huge salary cap windfall benefit

The LA Rams would be hurt a great deal if quarterback Jared Goff decided to opt out this season. But based on the latest reports out of the NFL management council, all bonus proration and salaries will be removed from the team’s 2020 cap.  So let’s clarify. As of today, QB Jared Goff creates a $28,842,682 cap hit in 2020.  If he were to opt-out, that would be removed from the Rams salary cap.  The team’s projected 2020 salary cap space would balloon from $5,165,378 to a whopping $34 million.

Now, let’s not be crazy here.  This is neither a suggestion nor endorsement for Goff to do so. The LA Rams have one player who has opted out in offensive lineman Chandler Brewer.  And for now, Rams head coach Sean McVay does not anticipate any other players choosing to opt-out this season.

Windfall, but only for select NFL teams

But it displays the salary cap benefit of players opting out to their team’s salary cap.  The best information we have right now is that opting-out creates a “space holder” for the team-player contract. In summary, 2020 gets pushed to 2021, 2021 to 2022, and so on.

Wow. Suddenly the near pity welling up in my soul for the New England Patriots who have eight players choosing to opt-out this season has instantly turned into disappointment in myself. The Patriots have found another loophole, an edge that they and they alone are uniquely positioned to take advantage of. Are they that fortunate, or that sly?

The other new wrinkle? If players opt-out in 2020 but do not make the roster in 2021, what happens. No one has a definitive answer, but there is a growing consensus that the money paid in 2020 does not have to be repaid. That could result in a much larger number of players electing to opt-out this year.

We will continue to monitor and report new information as it becomes available. The NFL and NFLPA were under tremendous pressure to execute this addendum, and there will likely be minor revisions in the future as unforeseen circumstances are addressed or clarified.