Rams well-represented among league's highest paid players

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RamBill

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Rams well-represented among league's highest paid players
By Ryan Van Bibber

http://www.turfshowtimes.com/2014/6...epresented-among-leagues-highest-paid-players

A look at the list of the NFL's top 25 base salaries and cap hits for 2014 features some familiar names.

It's no secret that the St. Louis Rams have some serious salaries (for the NFL anyway) on the books. Every team includes a top contract or two on the roster, but the Rams just happened to be well represented among the richest of the rich, the one percent of players.

Base salaries

We won't hammer on the difference between base salaries and cap hits. Cap hits are different because they can include pro-rated bonuses, etc. Base salary is the just amount the player makes in a given year according to his contract.

The Rams have two players among the top ten highest base salaries in the NFL.

No. 5 is Sam Bradford with 2014 base salary of $14.015 million. Four players have a bigger base salary this year. The two players with the third highest base salaries are tied with the same amount.

No. 7 is Chris Long with a 2014 base salary of $13.2 million.

You don't have to go much further down the list to find another player in blue and gold. James Laurinaitis is tied for 17th with a base salary of $10 million this year.

Three players on the list for the top 25 base salaries is the most of any other NFL team. A handful of teams have two players on the list, including the Seahawks.

Cap hits

The Rams have two players on the list of the top 25 cap hits this year. Sam Bradford checks in at No. 7 with a cap hit of $17.61 million. Long is No. 18 at $14.9 million.

Both lists are pretty instructive about where spending priorities are in the NFL right now. There are eight quarterbacks and two pass rushers in the 10 highest cap hits. Of those eight quarterbacks, Bradford and Jay Cutler are the only ones without a Super Bowl ring. Bradford's the lone QB on the list that's never made a playoff appearance. He's also the only QB on the list still playing on his rookie contract.

Ndamukong Suh, Bradford's fellow 2010 draft alumni, restructured his contract in 2012, which set him up to be the league's biggest cap hit this year at more than $22 million. He's a free agent after this season. Bradford has one more year left on his current contract.