Mailbag: Can the move help Rams in free agency?

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RamBill

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Can move to Los Angeles help Rams in free agency?
By Nick Wagoner

http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-ra...-move-to-los-angeles-help-rams-in-free-agency

EARTH CITY, Mo. -- The offseason is here for the Los Angeles Rams and now that we know where they'll be playing their home games for the long term, things have settled down enough to spend our weekends answering a few of your Twitter questions.

As always, you can find me on Twitter @nwagoner and fire away with any Rams-related questions you might have. Please use hashtag #RamsMail so I can see them.

On to your questions.

Jerseyram1 @Rdvez1
@nwagoner #Ramsmail. Knowing the cost of living is higher in LA, however more sponsorship $ available to the players-does it help in FA?


@nwagoner: It's an interesting question, and it's one that can really only be answered when we get there. The Rams have a lot of free agents so there will be ample sample size to find out how it helps in retaining their own as well as adding from the outside. I also have wondered if the Rams have been unable to get deals done with some of their own free agents until their future was settled. From an agent's perspective, a deal is worth less in Los Angeles than it was in St. Louis based on state income tax so it's possible it factored in to some of those discussions. On the other side, there's no doubt that Los Angeles offers a more appealing lifestyle to many players, particularly the younger, single types. The weather is better and, as you point out, there's more endorsement opportunities. I tend to think that in general, it won't make a huge difference either way. Most players want the same thing that Rams owner Stan Kroenke wanted when he elected to move the team: the most money possible. That will always be the primary goal for free agents. If the Rams are competitive in that regard, perhaps the L.A. lifestyle could be a tiebreaker, but it's not likely to be the primary reason for a player signing, no matter what they might say after the fact.

Mitch Friedman @mitchf7
@nwagoner #ramsmail what do you think the long-term plans are for Chris Long? What are Ramblings about resigning secondary? Hope u continue.



@nwagoner: I wrote about Long's future a couple of weeks ago here at ESPN.com, but we can revisit. At this point, it seems unlikely he returns, especially under his current contract which calls for a salary cap hit of more than $14 million. By his own admission, his production the past two years hasn't met his salary, and he knows that puts him in a precarious position moving forward. He told me that he's open to coming back at a reduced rate, but it could be difficult to make it work. It's a very real possibility he has played his last game as a Ram. As for the secondary, the Rams have interest in bringing back all four of the starters from that group: Rodney McLeod, Mark Barron, Janoris Jenkins and Trumaine Johnson. It also might not be possible to make that happen. My hunch is that they'd prefer to keep Jenkins over Johnson if forced to choose but also know that Johnson might be cheaper to retain. They are still going through the process of figuring out Barron's best fit, and until they do that it will be difficult to put a dollar value on him. There could be some shuffling on the back end depending on how it all plays out. There's no doubt that the Rams' offseason will be shaped largely by what happens with their defensive backs.
 

DaveFan'51

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I think it will help the Rams in the FA market because the Greater L.A./Hollywood Market is a great place for players to build their own Brand, if you well!! Their will be a lot more sponsorship money here!!
 

Ballhawk

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It will be good for the star players but for the average, run of the mill, free agent it will be more costly to live there and could discourage them.
 

Akrasian

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Some will care about the living expenses - many will just care about maximizing the raw money, since it's an ego thing - many want to just get more raw money than their peers. That's why players want to get those huge contracts with massive non-guaranteed balloon payments at the end that they will never see. It tells the world they are prized players.

Agents will want their players to go to LA, since even if the players have to pay more in taxes, almost certainly they will get more in endorsement money - even the bit players, doing appearances at car dealerships and the like - and agents will get a cut of that money.
 

den-the-coach

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There is no debate here, it will help in free agency for so many reasons.
  1. Branding
  2. Weather
  3. New Venue once it's constructed
  4. More players are from California than Missouri and might want to go home.
 

JUMAVA68

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Definitely over the years some if these players will get alot cash from being in LA and that is the bottom line,
 

fearsomefour

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I couldn't imagine the advantage being in Vegas would give the Raiders....I don't think it will happen, just saying.
A town like to a young guy making bank?....please....add in no state income tax?? Easy sale.
 

JerseyRam1

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Happy to see Nick answered my question. I would think if you asked NFL players, 80% would prefer LA to St. Louis. Knowing also the Rams have one of the youngest rosters in the NFL and some of those yongin's are coming up for FA, its a hellava hook than staying in a lower tier market.
 

IowaRam

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I think it's going to be huge, especially when they open up KronenkeWorld and the NFL Network moves in

I actually think the Rams will have to turn Free Agents away

Every player who wants to get into broadcasting after they retire ( which is probably most of them ) are going to want to play in the very same building as the NFL Network broadcasts from

I truly believe in the years to come , the only thing that will hold this team back is the coaching staff