LA Rams: Five worst moves of the 2021 offseason

Kicking salary cap turmoil into 2022

The LA Rams, much like many NFL teams, were between a rock and a hard place heading into 2021. The team has signed veteran players to lucrative deals that were loaded with guaranteed salaries. Just as quickly, the team then changed their mind, parted ways with those once critical pieces, and had to pay the financial penalty of voiding high-compensation contracts by swallowing enormous amounts of dead cap.

The LA Rams began the kick-the-cap-can in 2020 when the team traded wide receiver Brandin Cooks and outright cut running back Todd Gurley. The situation became even more desperate in 2021 when the team traded quarterback Jared Goff. Even these three moves would have been far less crippling to the team if they had no salary cap issues from COVID-19.

The drop in NFL 2020 revenue triggered a steep drop in the 2021 NFL salary cap.  Unlike many teams that cut or renegotiated contracts, the sheer volume of work necessary to clear the salary cap ceiling fast-tracked many contracts to simply be restructured  That created a number of contracts to convert 2021 salary into a 2021 signing bonus, effectively lowering the 2021 cap impact by spreading those dollars into 2022 and beyond.

Okay, so what about the 2022 salary cap and beyond? Exactly.  Even before the Rams enter 2022, they are already projected well over the expected salary cap. That is a horrendous starting point for a team with 23 player contracts expiring in 2022. Where will the money come from to re-sign players next year? Well, the likely solution will be more restructuring, which will kick the salary cap can into 2023.