Los Angeles Rams get steal of a deal with Nate Landman contract

The 9-2 Los Angeles Rams have not invested in the linebacker position in quite some time. Most recently, they opted to trade away starting linebacker Ernest Jones rather than acquiesce to his demands for a contract extension last year. They backfilled Jones' spot this year with former Falcons undrafted free agent Nate Landman, signing the unheralded veteran to a one-year, $1.1 million deal.

Landman has overperformed his league minimum contract. And he has become a critical cog in one of the best defenses in the NFL. And the Rams have opted to reward him with a three-year, $22.5 million contract extension, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.

The contract is a modest one, even in a linebacker market that has failed to grow in line with most other positions. Landman's average salary per year (APY) will tie him with Pete Werner and Blake Cashman for 25th overall at the position.

Looking At Comparable Players For Nate Landman

Comparing Landman to those players shows that the Rams were willing to commit to this deal because they were getting extreme value on their investment. Extrapolating Landman's season-to-date production over a full 17-game season, we can compare him to the two players he matched in annual salary in their platform years.

*Note: these productivity numbers are derived from Pro Football Focus. We omitted his superpower, his Peanut Punch ability to force fumbles.

Landman has proven to be a stronger option at stuffing the run and generating splash plays. Those are two coveted skills in a rapidly changing NFL landscape. But to truly see the value his new contract brings, we need to look at the players who profile most similarly to his production. Using that same one-year timeline, Foyesade Oluokun's 2023 and Logan Wilson's 2022 are similar comps.

Olukokun's deal in 2024 was for $10 million. That was 3.9% of that year's salary cap. Wilson's $9 million APY in 2023 was a similar 4.0 percent of the cap. Scaled to this year's salary cap, the average of the two could have put Landman's APY at $11 million.

Wilson shows as a close comp on two-year production comparisons as well. And over a three-year timeframe, Bobby Okereke's 2020-2022 and Kyzir White's 2021-2023 show as close comps. Those two signed for APYs of 4.4 and 4.1 percent, respectively. Applied to this year's cap that would create a case for an APY as high as $12.25 million.

The Value of A Mid-Season Extension

No one should fault Landman for getting security. Per Rapoport's report, his guarantees on this extension represent a 14-fold increase in his salary this year. He has less than $2.5 million in career earnings.

This is life-changing money for him. But Les Snead knows a good deal when he sees one as well. He's getting his linebacker locked down for nickels on the dime. And that's where Snead operates well.

He's proven in the past that he can find value on the margins. Half a decade ago, he exploited an overvaluation of draft picks across the league to acquire premium NFL talent in player-for-pick swaps. And now Snead is finding value in capitalizing on an unheralded free agent in the midst of a breakout campaign.

The guaranteed money will likely be doled out by the end of 2026. So ultimately Snead is committing to one additional year at a discount. It's a good deal for Landman, but a great deal for the Rams.