LA Rams will get perks for playing poorly next year

Sometimes we can miss the forest for the trees. After winning Super Bowl LVI, the LA Rams confronted forces that, put simply, made it very difficult for these Rams to repeat as NFL Champions. Call it whatever you like, the LA Rams organization faced the toughest circumstances in the NFL this season and crumpled under the weight of it all.

Not only did the Rams have the shortest recovery time, the toughest pre-season strength of schedule, and a host of other NFL clubs cannibalizing the Rams coaching staff to graft coaches into their own organization, but the few Rams NFL Draft picks remaining from their original seven pick allotment fell dead last in each round.

It all combined to make this team vulnerable to an incredibly disappointing season. But if you can hold on, the team’s fortunes will skyrocket the other way. How?

Let’s just say, for the sake of this argument, that the LA Rams continue along as they have been this season, and finish with a record of 5-12. Disappointing season? You bet. But here is what that means, and yes, you had better sit down for this.

NFL perks of playing poorly

Buried among the many bylaws, regulations, and practices of the NFL are advantages bestowed upon the teams that finish poorly and help those teams to become competitive again. There is a method to this madness. If the National Football League failed to optimize competitiveness, marketing for the less successful teams would become a true nightmare. That would not only hurt those teams but the overall financial feasibility of the league.

As a result, the NFL has skewed its process to recycle poor-performing teams and give them advantages all across the board. But the very events that made the Rams struggle this season will make the team quite competitive next year. How so? Let’s take a look.