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How can the Rams configure Jalen Ramsey, Cooper Kupp deals? An expert weighs in
With the Rams’ eyes on the full return of personnel to team facilities in late July, two likely massive contracts loom on the horizon.
Cornerback Jalen Ramsey is prepared to give the Rams a little wiggle room when it comes to the timeline of his next contract, saying last month that he would participate in training camp without an extension that undoubtedly will reset the market at his position. Ramsey added that his agent, David Mulugheta, and the team have been on the same page since last season’s trade regarding a new contract.
The contract of receiver Cooper Kupp, who just recorded his first 1,000-yard season, also is set to expire after the 2020 season. Kupp isn’t likely to hold out of camp either, but the Rams still should lock him in before regular-season games are played this fall.
Both players have emerged as leaders on their respective sides of the ball. Both will have huge roles in 2020. Both are priority contracts. And yet the Rams are hamstrung, with approximately $6 million in current cap space (after gaining $5.5 million on June 1 for cutting Todd Gurley), and need to sign their draft picks from this April.
How can the Rams get both deals done? Michael Ginnitti, the co-founder and senior editor of Spotrac, a leading website for contract information, thinks the first step for general manager Les Snead is a restructure of defensive tackle Aaron Donald’s contract to free up money. The caveat? That likely would only make room for Ramsey’s new contract and the draft class. Donald signed a six-year, $135 million extension in August 2018.
“Donald has yet to be restructured, and I give the Rams a lot of credit for not doing that, because it’s kind of like an ace in the hole that they haven’t been using yet,” he told The Athletic.
“To me, they’re going to have to use it, because of the dead cap they have accrued, like we mentioned before, because they’re not getting rid of Ramsey. They’re going to pay Ramsey. Like I said, his fifth-year option is a little over $13 million right now. If we’re looking at other cornerback contracts — for instance, the Byron Jones contract with Miami that was signed this free agency. He carries a first-year cap hit of about $17 million. So if we just use that model, we’re talking about four to five million of increased cap for Ramsey, if and when they extend him this year.”
Ginnitti added that one option for the Rams may even be to wait until after the 2020 season to extend Ramsey, due to the combination of their financial limitations and the uncertainty surrounding the regular season because of the pandemic.
“But if they’re going to go that route, they need about $4 million in additional money to go,” he said. “Not to mention they haven’t signed any of their draft class yet, which is another seven to eight million dollars of cap right there. So if you’re talking about $12 or $13 million you need to free up, all you really need to do is do a full base-salary restructure on Donald this year, which drops him from $17 million to a little over a million of salary and turns the rest into bonus, and you save just under $13 million of space right there.”
Ginnitti joined the 11 Personnel podcast to talk about the Ramsey and Kupp deals — and how another receiver is also tied into the equation. The full episode is below, followed by highlights of the conversation.
On how much money Ramsey could command:
“To me, his price point is a little over $20 million. It’s not even approaching $20 million. It’s got to be over $20 million. If you’re paying the second-tier wide receiver, which is Amari Cooper or Michael Thomas right now — if you’re putting Julio Jones on his own plane, which I think is probably fair right now — the second-tier wide receiver is Amari Cooper at $20 million. The guy guarding Cooper — that’s generally how it works. You’ve got a quarterback and then you’ve got a guy who rushes the quarterback. That pay, for a long time, aligned itself, and the same goes with the top wide receiver and the top cornerback to shut him down.
“So $20 million has to be the number for guys like Ramsey, Quinton Dunbar, Tre’Davious White. I don’t know that they all get there. I think maybe the first person to sign of that group comes in at $18 million, and then they step up from there, but when you’re talking about the trade haul and his production and what he’s worth to the Rams right now, from a defensive standpoint, $20 million is the number.”
On what guarantees Ramsey could command:
“The percentages are decent. Jones … just locked in a little over 55 percent of his contract, guaranteed at signing. That’s a pretty scary number, when you’re talking about a possible $100 million, $105 million total contract for Ramsey. You’re talking north of $50 million, fully guaranteed, has to go in escrow immediately. So then if you’re tacking on another $20 million for maybe a third year that hasn’t locked in yet, now we’re talking close to $70 million in total guarantees, and that’s a big number. The max right now is $55 million of practical guarantees on a cornerback contract. So it’s possible that Ramsey’s deal, because of how it is on a total value, blows away these guaranteed numbers in terms of $50 million versus $70 million over the next three seasons.”
On Kupp’s potential money:
“There’s really two factors that temper his calculated value in our system right now. No. 1 one is the games missed because of injury. Two is, when I put him up against, like, the Thomases and the Tyreek Hills of the world, he’s a couple targets short, on an average basis. And you can understand that, because (the Rams) had three to four weapons leading up to this year, and Brandin Cooks took a lot of those targets away. That’s not going to be the case this year. He’s going to get nine targets a game. It’s going to happen. He may get 10 targets a game. He might be more in Jarvis Landry’s world right now, which is kind of the ‘target king’ right now. Those two things — and they’re small factors in our calculations.
“He’s still got a really nice number with us right now. But those are holding him back from being into the $19 million, $20 million mark right now. He’s at $17 million right now, which is a huge number when you talk about the fact that he’s about to make two (million) right now with the Rams. So it’s a gigantic leap forward, and oh, by the way, we just had a 20-minute discussion on how the Rams really, we don’t even know if they should be paying players top-market contracts right now, because their (championship) window might be closing. So all of those things will come into play with Kupp staying with the Rams on a long-term basis. But just from a straight, nerdy numbers take at it, he’s valuing at $17 million a year right now.”
On how Kupp and receiver Robert Woods may be tied together:
“To me, the X-factor is Woods (who is signed through 2021). I hate to bring him into this, because he is cost-controlled. He was cost-controlled from day one. The production you’ve gotten from him on an $8.5 million contract has been absurd. And I realize that he has missed some time as well, but he’s essentially entering a contract year, in my opinion, because they’re going to have to rip up next year for one or two reasons. Do you extend him as well, on a more cost-controlled extension, or do you have to look to trade (him) this offseason, or maybe during this season, depending on how it goes?
“That’s a big part of this, because if you’re leaving Kupp as kind of the only guy in the room at the end of the day, and then you’re going to fill in with rookies or some smaller free-agent acquisitions to go behind him, now we’re talking about legitimate WR1 money for Cooper Kupp going forward, and we’re talking about a take above even a Thomas contract, because Thomas, he’s the $19.5 million dollar man — but that was a year and a half ago. So we’ve got to adjust everything for cap adjustments. So we’re going to push ourselves into a $20 million conversation with Kupp, if they decide that he is the singular figure going forward.”
On whether either player could be a franchise tag candidate:
“It’s a really good question. I think that would be playing with a ton of fire with Ramsey. Of course, I mean, we saw what happened with Jacksonville, and he has so much leverage with this trade, with the trade haul. So I don’t think he’s the right player for that. But is Kupp the right player for that? That’s a really interesting question, because you’re talking about a franchise tag that should be about $18 million, which sounds familiar, right? That’s exactly what we’re talking about on a multi-year deal for him. So I guess it’s possible that if they don’t get there, and they find themselves in a situation where he does have a monster 2020, like we all kind of think he might, then you do slap that on him, because it’s at least a respectable dollar figure as a placeholder for a couple months, to see what you can do.
“And look, at that point you might have two more, three more receivers that are north of $20 million. So that’s a bit of a value if you have to look to trade him at that point as well. A tag and trade, which is becoming more and more popular. So it’s not a terrible question. I do think Kupp is the more likely candidate there, though.”
With the Rams’ eyes on the full return of personnel to team facilities in late July, two likely massive contracts loom on the horizon.
Cornerback Jalen Ramsey is prepared to give the Rams a little wiggle room when it comes to the timeline of his next contract, saying last month that he would participate in training camp without an extension that undoubtedly will reset the market at his position. Ramsey added that his agent, David Mulugheta, and the team have been on the same page since last season’s trade regarding a new contract.
The contract of receiver Cooper Kupp, who just recorded his first 1,000-yard season, also is set to expire after the 2020 season. Kupp isn’t likely to hold out of camp either, but the Rams still should lock him in before regular-season games are played this fall.
Both players have emerged as leaders on their respective sides of the ball. Both will have huge roles in 2020. Both are priority contracts. And yet the Rams are hamstrung, with approximately $6 million in current cap space (after gaining $5.5 million on June 1 for cutting Todd Gurley), and need to sign their draft picks from this April.
How can the Rams get both deals done? Michael Ginnitti, the co-founder and senior editor of Spotrac, a leading website for contract information, thinks the first step for general manager Les Snead is a restructure of defensive tackle Aaron Donald’s contract to free up money. The caveat? That likely would only make room for Ramsey’s new contract and the draft class. Donald signed a six-year, $135 million extension in August 2018.
“Donald has yet to be restructured, and I give the Rams a lot of credit for not doing that, because it’s kind of like an ace in the hole that they haven’t been using yet,” he told The Athletic.
“To me, they’re going to have to use it, because of the dead cap they have accrued, like we mentioned before, because they’re not getting rid of Ramsey. They’re going to pay Ramsey. Like I said, his fifth-year option is a little over $13 million right now. If we’re looking at other cornerback contracts — for instance, the Byron Jones contract with Miami that was signed this free agency. He carries a first-year cap hit of about $17 million. So if we just use that model, we’re talking about four to five million of increased cap for Ramsey, if and when they extend him this year.”
Ginnitti added that one option for the Rams may even be to wait until after the 2020 season to extend Ramsey, due to the combination of their financial limitations and the uncertainty surrounding the regular season because of the pandemic.
“But if they’re going to go that route, they need about $4 million in additional money to go,” he said. “Not to mention they haven’t signed any of their draft class yet, which is another seven to eight million dollars of cap right there. So if you’re talking about $12 or $13 million you need to free up, all you really need to do is do a full base-salary restructure on Donald this year, which drops him from $17 million to a little over a million of salary and turns the rest into bonus, and you save just under $13 million of space right there.”
Ginnitti joined the 11 Personnel podcast to talk about the Ramsey and Kupp deals — and how another receiver is also tied into the equation. The full episode is below, followed by highlights of the conversation.
On how much money Ramsey could command:
“To me, his price point is a little over $20 million. It’s not even approaching $20 million. It’s got to be over $20 million. If you’re paying the second-tier wide receiver, which is Amari Cooper or Michael Thomas right now — if you’re putting Julio Jones on his own plane, which I think is probably fair right now — the second-tier wide receiver is Amari Cooper at $20 million. The guy guarding Cooper — that’s generally how it works. You’ve got a quarterback and then you’ve got a guy who rushes the quarterback. That pay, for a long time, aligned itself, and the same goes with the top wide receiver and the top cornerback to shut him down.
“So $20 million has to be the number for guys like Ramsey, Quinton Dunbar, Tre’Davious White. I don’t know that they all get there. I think maybe the first person to sign of that group comes in at $18 million, and then they step up from there, but when you’re talking about the trade haul and his production and what he’s worth to the Rams right now, from a defensive standpoint, $20 million is the number.”
On what guarantees Ramsey could command:
“The percentages are decent. Jones … just locked in a little over 55 percent of his contract, guaranteed at signing. That’s a pretty scary number, when you’re talking about a possible $100 million, $105 million total contract for Ramsey. You’re talking north of $50 million, fully guaranteed, has to go in escrow immediately. So then if you’re tacking on another $20 million for maybe a third year that hasn’t locked in yet, now we’re talking close to $70 million in total guarantees, and that’s a big number. The max right now is $55 million of practical guarantees on a cornerback contract. So it’s possible that Ramsey’s deal, because of how it is on a total value, blows away these guaranteed numbers in terms of $50 million versus $70 million over the next three seasons.”
On Kupp’s potential money:
“There’s really two factors that temper his calculated value in our system right now. No. 1 one is the games missed because of injury. Two is, when I put him up against, like, the Thomases and the Tyreek Hills of the world, he’s a couple targets short, on an average basis. And you can understand that, because (the Rams) had three to four weapons leading up to this year, and Brandin Cooks took a lot of those targets away. That’s not going to be the case this year. He’s going to get nine targets a game. It’s going to happen. He may get 10 targets a game. He might be more in Jarvis Landry’s world right now, which is kind of the ‘target king’ right now. Those two things — and they’re small factors in our calculations.
“He’s still got a really nice number with us right now. But those are holding him back from being into the $19 million, $20 million mark right now. He’s at $17 million right now, which is a huge number when you talk about the fact that he’s about to make two (million) right now with the Rams. So it’s a gigantic leap forward, and oh, by the way, we just had a 20-minute discussion on how the Rams really, we don’t even know if they should be paying players top-market contracts right now, because their (championship) window might be closing. So all of those things will come into play with Kupp staying with the Rams on a long-term basis. But just from a straight, nerdy numbers take at it, he’s valuing at $17 million a year right now.”
On how Kupp and receiver Robert Woods may be tied together:
“To me, the X-factor is Woods (who is signed through 2021). I hate to bring him into this, because he is cost-controlled. He was cost-controlled from day one. The production you’ve gotten from him on an $8.5 million contract has been absurd. And I realize that he has missed some time as well, but he’s essentially entering a contract year, in my opinion, because they’re going to have to rip up next year for one or two reasons. Do you extend him as well, on a more cost-controlled extension, or do you have to look to trade (him) this offseason, or maybe during this season, depending on how it goes?
“That’s a big part of this, because if you’re leaving Kupp as kind of the only guy in the room at the end of the day, and then you’re going to fill in with rookies or some smaller free-agent acquisitions to go behind him, now we’re talking about legitimate WR1 money for Cooper Kupp going forward, and we’re talking about a take above even a Thomas contract, because Thomas, he’s the $19.5 million dollar man — but that was a year and a half ago. So we’ve got to adjust everything for cap adjustments. So we’re going to push ourselves into a $20 million conversation with Kupp, if they decide that he is the singular figure going forward.”
On whether either player could be a franchise tag candidate:
“It’s a really good question. I think that would be playing with a ton of fire with Ramsey. Of course, I mean, we saw what happened with Jacksonville, and he has so much leverage with this trade, with the trade haul. So I don’t think he’s the right player for that. But is Kupp the right player for that? That’s a really interesting question, because you’re talking about a franchise tag that should be about $18 million, which sounds familiar, right? That’s exactly what we’re talking about on a multi-year deal for him. So I guess it’s possible that if they don’t get there, and they find themselves in a situation where he does have a monster 2020, like we all kind of think he might, then you do slap that on him, because it’s at least a respectable dollar figure as a placeholder for a couple months, to see what you can do.
“And look, at that point you might have two more, three more receivers that are north of $20 million. So that’s a bit of a value if you have to look to trade him at that point as well. A tag and trade, which is becoming more and more popular. So it’s not a terrible question. I do think Kupp is the more likely candidate there, though.”
