LA Rams FA aggressiveness has this unintended negative effect

The LA Rams have been rather aggressive in the 2024 NFL Free Agency market so far. With the team adding IOL Jonah Jackson, TE Colby Parkinson, and DB Kamren Curl, there is lots of optimism over the team's chances in 2024.

As well there should be. The Rams finished strong in 2023, turning a 3-6 season that would have disappointed everyone into a 10-7 playoff year. Now, with a new 2024 NFL season, the belief that the team will play 17 games in the same fashion as their 7-1 finish fuels the optimism and fans alike. It's the view of better times on the horizon that incentivized the team to shake of the slumber from last season and become active and aggressive by adding key veterans this year.

Now for the rest of the story

Per the experts at overthecap.com, the LA Rams have a net gain of two free agents so far. Unfortunately, one of the first criteria to trigger the algorithm for calculating (or projecting) any awarded compensatory draft picks is the require to have a net loss of free agents.

The entire 'compensatory draft picks,' concept was agreed by the NFL and NFLPA as a way to reimburse teams that are adversely impacted by the loss of players tot he annual free agency market. Thanks to an algorithm never made public, the NFL assesses the net gain or loss of players to free agency, and then metes out awarded compensatory picks to teams that lose more players than they sign.

The contract value of lost free agents is used to rank the lost players, which then are equated to awarded compensatory draft picks in the following year's draft.

I have simplified the calculation, but a longer definition can be found at overthecap.com. What is truly important is the fact that in prior years, the team suffered a net loss of players to free agency. This year, the team has a net gain of players. As such, no compensatory picks will be awarded to the LA Rams in the 2024 NFL Draft as a result of free agency. The Rams will still be awarded one compensatory pick in Round 3 of the 2025 NFL Draft due to the loss of DC Raheem Morris as the new head coach of the Atlanta Falcons.

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