How does the Raiders - Josh Jacobs controversy in 2023 help the LA Rams in the future?

Ripley's Believe it or not

So what does this issue mean for the LA Rams? Well, believe it or not, Rams fans should probably be rooting for Raiders running back Josh Jacobs on this polarizing and ground-breaking issue. After all, while the LA Rams may be confronted with a similar 'pay me or trade me,' type of scenario with their own main running back Cam Akers, the Rams have already been confronted with a running back dispute of their own in 2022.

The Rams - Akers dispute was about how the Rams planned to use Akers in the offense. While the team and the player were at odds for a short time, everybody reconciled, hugged it out, and the result was RB Cam Akers putting up the best three consecutive games of his NFL career to close out the 2022 NFL season.

But who is kidding who? Much like the safety position, unless Akers reaches the level of All-Pro status this year and is willing to give a deep hometown discount to return to play for the LA Rams, he will ultimately test his value in the NFL Free Agency Market. And when that happens, that is when the Josh Jacobs controversy kicks in.

Rams won't pay more, but will other NFL teams?

There is likely very little chance of the LA Rams paying to retain a running back in their current status, even if Cam Akers puts up over 1000+ yards this season (which I believe that he could do). So any effort to elevate the NFL Free Agent value for Cam Akers would be very beneficial for the LA Rams going forward, to say the least.

The reason for that is the algorithm used to calculate which teams and in which rounds to award compensatory picks in future NFL drafts. That formula is based, in part, on the average annual salary of an NFL free agents new contract. So the more lucrative the offer for a player like RB Cam Akers to play elsewhere, the more likely the chance that the LA Rams have of being awarded a compensatory draft pick for losing Akers, and the better that awarded pick will become.

Does Jacobs have a chance at turning the tide for all NFL running backs? Perhaps. But Pittsburgh Steelers Le'Veon Bell tried a similar tactic in 2018, which ultimately was a disaster. The market value of personal services or products is what others are willing to pay. Right now, NFL executives are unwilling to pay more for the running back position.

I don't see how this will end well for the Las Vegas Raiders or for RB Josh Jacobs. But if Jacobs does get his asking price, that will certainly set the stage for the NFL market to value RB Cam Akers more in the future.