Take a look at the Signing column under Prorated Bonus and you will see $22.7M cap hits for both '25 and '26. Those are cap hits the Rams are taking for signing bonuses the Rams paid Stafford in previous years as part of that $120M the Rams already paid Stafford.
Included in those cap hits is the original $60M signing bonus he got in 2022. He got all $60M in 2022 (again, part of the $120M you mentioned) but the cap hit gets spread over 5 years at $12M a year. That accounts for $12M of the $22.7M shown in '25 and '26 and the remaining $10.7M is a result of the restructures that have occurred in the last couple years where some of Stafford's salary got converted to signing bonuses.
The Rams are not paying Stafford the $22.7M Prorated Signing Bonus in '25 and '26 ... they are taking cap hits for money they paid him in the past.
What they are actually paying him is the $4M roster bonus in '25, the salaries ($16M and $16M), and a couple option bonuses ($24M in both '25 and '26). So he is getting paid $84M for the next 2 seasons. And the Rams will account for $129.3M in cap hits over the next 3 seasons, $45.3M of which is for money the Rams paid Stafford prior to the 2025 season.
It is true that the cap hits the Rams are taking for the next 3 years is $45.3M more than they are actually paying him. But in the previous 4 years they took cap hits that were $49.3M less than they actually paid him.
Cap hits don't have to be taken in the year the money is paid. Signing bonuses and certain option bonuses can be spread out over the life of the contract (up to 5 years). You see the void years in Stafford's deal in 2027 thru 2030? They only exist so the $24M option bonus Stafford gets in 2026 can be spread over the full 5 years.
There are techniques available to teams that allow them to move cap hits around. The Rams have elevated that process to an art form.
AlbaNY_Ram
Edited 5 time(s). Last edit at 06/25/2025 04:07AM by AlbaNY_Ram.
