Awkward contract situation resolved, the Rams and Matthew Stafford have found balance again

LOS ANGELES — The contract adjustment was awkward. Maybe a little uncomfortable. There’s really no way to get around that for Matthew Stafford and the Los Angeles Rams.

You could see that much in Stafford’s first remarks about his adjusted contract on Wednesday, which he tried to avoid completely — much like Rams head coach Sean McVay had one day earlier. But a compromise was reached (we’ll get into that in a second) and Stafford was on the field and dealing during the Rams’ first training camp practice at Loyola Marymount University. Which was more than you could say for multiple NFL stars across the league this week, with several key players in other franchises either sitting out practices or not showing up for camp at all. Such is life in the NFL for the next few training camps, as massive deals have skewed the salary scales of multiple positions and put players and teams at a financial crossroads.

None of those is more significant than at the quarterback spot, where deals signed as recently as 2022 have quickly tumbled down the average-per-year pay scale. That’s essentially what happened with Stafford, whose four-year, $160 million extension signed two years ago had him entering camp with the 12th highest per-year average salary at his position. And with extensions for the Green Bay Packers’ Jordan Love and the Miami Dolphins’ Tua Tagovailoa anticipated — and potentially an extension for the Dallas Cowboys’ Dak Prescott — Stafford could have started the season as the 14th or 15th highest quarterback salary in terms of average.

So what exactly transpired between Stafford and the Rams with the contract?

Both sides are declining to comment on the contract adjustment, but a league source familiar with multiple quarterback negotiations this offseason told Yahoo Sports that the Rams and Stafford tweaked his cash flow, increasing the $31 million he was due to earn this season, while also decreasing the $15 million he was guaranteed next season. The source declined to give specifics on how much of the $15 million in guarantees from 2025 was moved into 2024, but it was enough to both satisfy Stafford getting additional money moved up and raising his APY of the first three years of his four-year extension, while also decreasing the cap hit the Rams would take next offseason if Stafford decided to retire with one year left on his deal.

Basically, if Stafford retires after 2024, it will mean that the extension he signed in 2022 ended up being a three-year deal with a higher average than $40 million per season. And if he doesn’t retire after the 2024 season, it will mean he got more money packed into the first three years of a contract extension that aged extremely fast.

The point of all of this is simple: Stafford gets more money up front in 2024, while the Rams get some dead money cap protection in 2025 in the event this is Stafford’s final season. And if 2024 is not Stafford’s final season, the two sides can go back to the negotiating table next offseason to adjust his 2025 salary or ink a new extension — with the caveat being that Stafford plays at his typical high level this season.

From the broader perspective of what’s going on in the league with so many stars trying to get paid at new market values, the Stafford adjustment ia fairly garden variety. The only thing that pushed it into white-knuckle territory was that it all came together so close to camp for the two sides. Stafford had the Rams in a tight spot, and the team knew the best course of action was to get a compromise done to eliminate any chance of disrupting what should be a very good team this season.

Watching Stafford and the Rams on Wednesday, you could see why there would be an effort to get everything square before camp opened. One interception aside, Stafford and the wideouts looked sharp immediately. Wideouts Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua look like they haven’t missed a beat, and running back Kyren Williams didn’t show any sign of a foot injury that forced him to miss a portion of the offseason. And not only did Kupp look healthy, too, Nacua appears to have a more finely-tuned physique after spending the offseason in a workout program alongside Kupp. Add in a rebuilt interior of the offensive line, rookie running back Blake Corum behind Williams, and some depth at tight end that might be better than initially thought, and the Rams’ offense might be as balanced as it has ever been during Stafford’s tenure in Los Angeles.

“We’re surrounded by a bunch of young talent on this team and guys that are hungry to prove themselves in this league, on this team, on the field, everything,” Stafford said of the team’s energy opening camp. “That’s a fun thing to be around. As veteran guys, we feed off that. At the same time, try to lead them in the right direction and teach them how to practice like NFL players. But these guys came in really in the spring and then have carried over to today. Just really knowing what to do and that’s half the battle, so I’m proud of those guys.”

Of course, there is plenty of work ahead in camp. The offensive line has to show it can come together as a cohesive unit in front of Stafford and the running backs, while the defense has to weather the loss of Aaron Donald and meld two draft picks with very high expectations — edge rusher Jared Verse and defensive tackle Braden Fiske — along with a multitude of other young defenders. Among them, the staff is particularly excited about the strides taken by second-year linebacker Byron Young and defensive tackle Kobie Turner. There’s also noticeable buzz in the organization around free agent addition Kamren Curl, who will be able to play safety and slot corner, giving the secondary some intriguing flexibility.

“We’ve got a chance to be a tougher team on both lines of scrimmage,” McVay said. “Obviously there’s no denying we’re going to miss [Donald] in a big time way. But some of these young cats, they’ve got some stuff to them.”

Asked if he views the offensive spine as being run or pass dominant, McVay said the Rams have finally reached the kind of versatility that has eluded them in even some of their best years.

“Both, hopefully — if we can be both, that’s been some of the best offenses we’ve ever had,” he said. “But I do think that if we can have the threat of being really good running it, it opens up other avenues in the passing game. … Steve Avila looks really good at center, [guards] Jonah Jackson and Kevin Dotson, really just the investment we’ve made in the interior parts of the offensive line [are exciting], to hopefully give us the ability to do everything, whether it’s solidify the pocket in protection or dictate the terms of the run game.”

Both would be developments that maximize Stafford, which remains the top priority in the organization as long as he’s on the roster. Because the potential Super Bowl window with this team has suddenly swung wide open again, finally clear of the malaise of the 2022 season, which had threatened to undermine not only the path of McVay as a head coach, but also the futures of Stafford and others. One micro-rebuild later, both sides of the team are loaded with young and ascending players.

That quality and a high-end quarterback in the middle of it tends to get you places in the NFL. The Rams have both. And with the finances squared through 2024 with Stafford, the franchise is firmly on track and moving together without missing a step. And as far as the organization is concerned — and McVay specifically — that’s the first win of the season.