Head coach Sean McVay, general manager Les Snead, and the Los Angeles Rams have to make a decision and Matthew Stafford looms as a fitting solution to the situation.
“When next week rolls around every player on the roster will count against the salary cap,” Over The Cap’s Jason Fitzgerald wrote on September 4. “As of this morning we would estimate that four teams are likely over the cap and three teams are pretty close.
“The Rams … we have around $1.5 million over.”
Former sports agent Joel Corry, now an analyst for CBS Sports has the Rams over the cap by a slightly larger amount, but he echoed Fitzgerald’s expectation for a move, highlighting Stafford.
“The NFLPA lists the Rams as having $10.43 million of 2026 cap space under offseason accounting rules, where only the top 51 salaries (i.e., salary cap numbers) matter,” Corry wrote on September 4. “The cap room is illusory because salary cap accounting switches on September 9 where every player under contract including those on the reserve list and the practice squad counts. The Rams are tracking to be $1.715 million over the salary cap by NFLPA calculations when the offseason accounting expires.”
Rams Have Clear Decision to Make on Matthew Stafford
Corry believes Stafford is one of the “most logical” Rams candidates to have his deal restructured, and more so than the other, wide receiver Davante Adams. Corry also noted that Stafford has a $16 million base salary in 2026.
“Doing the salary conversion with Stafford … would generate up to $11.76 million of 2026 cap room,” Corry wrote, arguing against a similar move with Adams. “Stafford’s 2027 cap number would increase by $2.94 million from $31.6 million to $34.54 million, given the number of dummy/voiding years existing in his contract.”
The Rams revised Stafford’s contract this offseason.
Matthew Stafford and the Rams agreed to a 1-year, $55 million extension yesterday, putting him under contract through 2027 💰
“Sources: Rams QB Matthew Stafford’s recently revised contract includes rolling guarantee triggers after the 2026 and 2027 seasons, creating flexibility and allowing both sides to continue evaluating the reigning NFL MVP’s future each of the next two offseasons,” NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported on X on May 27.
“Stafford can earn $5 million in incentives each of the next two seasons ($2.5M for NFC championship win and $2.5M for Super Bowl win with 70% playtime in each game).
Pelissero continued, “Counting the March roster bonuses as part of the prior year’s compensation, Stafford is due $45 million for 2026 and $50M for 2027, with a chance to earn $105M total with incentives over two seasons.”
Rams Heading for ‘Interesting’ Crossroads
The Rams’ revision of Stafford’s contract set the stage for a critical decision in 2028, which could leave them facing “$57 million in dead money” if they try to avoid locking his $100 million base salary in.
“Things should get interesting for the Rams in 2028. That’s the logical time for Stafford to hang up his football cleats, given how his contract is structured. Stafford has an unsecured $100 million 2029 base salary that becomes fully guaranteed without an offset in March 2028 on the 10th of the 2028 league year,” Corry wrote.
“The dead money would be taken over two years with $21.6 million in 2028 and $35.4 million in 2029 with use of the post-June 1 designation.”
Corry lauded the Rams for getting Stafford’s replacement, Ty Simpson, early.
That would allow them to focus on pieces to help support their young QB of the future, even with a potentially more limited pie to work with than expected. That is, when the time comes, of course, since Stafford has not announced when his final season will be.
He has, however, sought insight from other QBs who have played into their 40s and continues to say leading up to this season how good he feels physically and mentally.
Rams Urged Make ‘Logical’ Move With Matthew Stafford Before Deadline