Rams BREAKING: Cooper Kupp New Contract Move Creates Cap Room; Here's Why
The Los Angeles Rams have made a lot of noise about a cap crunch, meaning that this season, in the wake of having built a Super Bowl winner, might have to be about a "remodeling'' of the roster.
But that doesn't mean there isn't business to be done and moves to be anticipated, as evidenced by the Wednesday morning transaction involving All-Pro receiver Cooper Kupp.
The Rams have cleared out $10.44 million in cap space with a restructure of Kupp's contract with what some teams call a "flip of the switch'' - a conversion of $13.92 million of Kupp’s salary into a signing bonus.
This is standard operating procedure that in most cases requires neither a negotiation with the player nor a sacrifice by the player. In other words, while the transaction lowers Kupp’s cap hit in 2023 while spreading money onto to future years of his deal (which runs through the 2026 season), it is simply a bookkeeping move. But ...
It is a helpful bookkeeping move for a Rams team that might have lowered expectations but also has on its roster stars like Kupp, quarterback Matthew Stafford and Aaron Donald, all of whom a) need to be paid and b) give the Rams a chance to compete even in a "remodeling'' year.
Previous to this switch-flip, Los Angeles had just over $1 million in cap space. So this is likely more about breathing room (finishing the signing of the draft class - including the just-done "unprecedented'' deal with first-rounder Steve Avila - budgeting for future incentives, creating a just-in-case "slush fund'') than it is about a coming blockbuster.
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