Odell Beckham Jr. on LA Rams: “They didn’t offer me…. ANYthing!”

When supply and demand converge

We also know that to compensate for so many elite players, the Rams must shop in the bargain basement for so many role players whose play exceeds their compensation. Those young underpaid players are truly the backbone of this team’s success.  Whether or not we care to acknowledge their contribution, the Rams have succeeded because they have churned out NFL-caliber talent on par with their roster needs.

Unfortunately, the number of early-season injuries to starters has overwhelmed the Rams’ ability to coach up younger players in time to take over vacated roles on the roster.

Coach ’em up

The Rams face the same problem as other NFL teams. Spreading the wealth to compensate players for their true value is an impossible task, but it’s the way the NFL and NFLPA have designed the system.

The Rams have embraced that system by developing raw talented young players into NFL starters and rotational players and allowing them to sign elsewhere for significant contracts. That, in turn, allows the team to restock its pipeline with a new crop of young and eager NFL hopefuls.

Success in the NFL is not just on the field, but it starts in the most private and personal of places, that paycheck. That’s part of the challenge. The NFL salary cap is the same pie that is served up to each NFL team. How the team slices that pie among the players is where the trick begins.

So the challenge becomes satisfying the salary requirements of each player on the roster. And that is where the LA Rams are struggling.