After the Rams won the Super Bowl, they celebrated by consuming plenty of Don Julio’s tequila and spending plenty of Stan Kroenke’s money.
A year later, the hangover still lingers.
They’ll never admit it, but the Rams regret giving Matthew Stafford a massive deal that included $63 million fully guaranteed at signing and another $57 million that became fully guaranteed in March 2023. That’s $120 million in full guarantees over two years for a quarterback who is, quite frankly, on the downhill slope of his career.
We’d heard that, although the Rams weren’t shopping Stafford, they were hoping someone would call. The Jets are the team that was believed to be most likely to make a play for Stafford, if the Jets hadn’t traded for Aaron Rodgers.
The Rams had another strategy for softening the blow of the $57 million mid-March guarantee. On Monday, Colin Cowherd said during his weekday show on FS1 and Fox Sports Radio that the Rams tried to get Stafford to renegotiate his contract — and that Stafford declined.
“I was told by a source I trust that they wanted to re-do his contract,” Cowherd said, via USA Today. “He wasn’t interested. It limits what they can do and they were frustrated with him.”
It’s unclear from the article whether the Rams were looking for a simple restructuring or a reduction in cash. Presumably, given that Stafford refused to do it, the Rams wanted him to take less money.
The fact that Stafford refused to cooperate with the Rams strengthens the possibility that 2023 will be Stafford’s last year with the Rams. It won’t be easy or cheap, especially since his $31 million salary for 2024 is already fully guaranteed. The Rams might have to pay more than a little of that money in order to get someone to accept his contract in trade.
Yes, the Rams won a Super Bowl through their trade for Stafford. But they’ve made some very bad business decisions in recent years, especially when it comes to quarterbacks. After winning that Super Bowl, they made a commitment to Stafford that they already realize they shouldn’t have.
