XXXIVwin
Legend
- Joined
- Jun 1, 2015
- Messages
- 5,119
Fantastic article, thanks for posting. Really an interesting negotiation because both sides have some truly legit claims.
For those who don't want to read the entire article, here are a few excerpts that caught my eye:
"Stafford’s current contract was signed in March of 2022 and averaged $40 million per season. It currently ranks 15th in the NFL. It was a surprising deal when he signed it and really is the reason for the issues he currently has with his contract. Stafford took a contract that really was not reflective of the market at the time. It was a contract that more or less seemed to be giving some type of discount to the Rams and embracing his status as an older QB at the age of 34.
Before the ink was dry on the Stafford deal it was clear that the contract was a mistake if money was a priority for him.
Despite the fact that Stafford’s contract does not rank in the top of the NFL by annual value, Stafford has not been underpaid relative to the rest of the NFL. From 2022 to 2025 his cash salary will rank 6th or 7th in the NFL.
The problem for Stafford and the Rams right now is can you justify doing a $50 million a year contract in 2025? There may be circumstances where you can do it with backend bloated salaries that he will never earn and a big raise for this season, but can you do it with a legit contract extension full of guarantees and all of the bells and whistles of these other contracts?
Regardless of Stafford’s level of play last year the fact remains that he is 37 years old this year. Too many of us looked at Brady’s career and thought that there was this new magical fountain of youth for QBs. Peyton Manning looked completely shot at the age of 39. Brees hit a similar wall around that age. Rodgers fell at 39 and then fell off a cliff at 40. And even these guys were exceptions. Matt Ryan was basically done at 37. Wilson fell apart in his mid 30s. Cousins at 36 was moved to the bench. For Ben Roethlisberger 37 was the end. The list goes on and on.
This is really why it is in the Rams best interest to continue to work within the framework of his current contract and find ways to piece it together year by year to make it work without damaging the long term future of the team.
My guess is we get more clarity on this in about a week but it really isn’t as simple as just saying “pay him”. It’s a big question about what is a fair number for today but what will also be a fair number for tomorrow. For the Rams they should want to take it season by season and Stafford lost that leverage to really push the Rams when he quickly signed that extension a few years ago."
