5 players who could be surprise salary cap casualties for LA Rams

In just two weeks’ time, the crazy NFL version of ‘March Madness’ begins. Of course, that is the time that 32 NFL teams grab their checkbooks and turn hard-working and solid performing NFL players into instant millionaires.

The LA Rams are not ready for the NFL Free Agency market just yet. You see, the LA Rams are well over the estimated 2021 NFL salary cap, for the time being.  Now that the NFL has tossed the ambiguity and defined the 2021 salary cap at $182.5 million, the heavy lifting of salary cap trimming can begin. The estimate for the LA Rams right now is over by approximately $33 million.

So we have come out with the 5-steps-to-save-$80-million article that sheds light on the various strategies required. But that lays out a nebulous plan that may excite accountants and bookkeepers, but the zest and zeal of recategorizing how the Rams realize payment to players are difficult to get very enthusiastic about for the lay fan. We also followed suit with the plan laid out by Rams GM Les Snead, which suggested that the Rams want to restructure contracts.  But that March 17, 2021, 1:00 pm PT won’t move. And negotiations to restructure take time.

The way rosters are managed objectively in the NFL is to create a budget for a position. That budget is not just for dollars, but dollars and production. Why both? Well, simply budgeting dollars ensures that the team will meet the cap threshold, but not any performance standards. To avoid paying too much for too little, teams need to employ both a dollar and performance budget. That method allows the team to pinpoint ‘overpays’ whenever a player’s production drops in relation to his contracted salary.