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Rams43
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ramBRO
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AlbaNY_Ram
I agree 100%. And in this scenario the Rams have at least 2 options:
1.) Let Mack sign first.
2.) Sign Donald to such a huge contract that the Raiders balk at exceeding it.
If I were the Rams I'd go with number 1. And if that is what they're doing then everything that's currently going on between the Rams and AD makes perfect sense (to me, anyway).
I'd propose a 3rd option:
Offer Donald a opt-out clause after year 2 or 3. Of course the total package would be lower, but it would offer both sides flexibility. If Mack signs a deal exceeding Donald's (possible), then this would keep Donald hungry for an even better deal. No, I'm sure the organization wouldn't want to do this all over again in 2 or 3 years, but when you see what's going on with Julio and Aaron Rogers, there's nothing to prevent it from happening anyway.
Why in the world would the Rams agree to such a thing, BRO?
Why throw away all their leverage AND pay AD millions more than necessary, only to be faced with losing him in the same 3 years of elapsed time that would transpire via the 2 tags? That would be insane.
Well then why would the organization (or any organization for that matter) entertain negotiations for elite players before they absolutely, positively had to?
The fact of the matter is...by entertaining negotiations when they didn't have to, the Rams have signaled that they don't want to get to the point of alienating a player/fan base (or at least a percentage of it) by tagging said player. Like I said in this same thread, antagonize an elite player and you're likely to get: 1) a drop-off in production; and/or, 2) a public demand for a trade. Neither of which the organization is interested in.
So you can keep theorizing about tagging Donald for 2 years - I just don't believe that it's as black & white of a situation as you.
So now, both sides are negotiating. According to Demoff's own words, the organization is merely looking to pay Donald commensurate with other highly-paid defenders. Donald's camp is rumored to be concerned about not being paid as the highest defender in the league.
Assuming the above, I could envision offering Donald an opt-out clause after 2 or 3 years in an effort to protect his status as highest-paid defender. Sounds great for him, but there are (of course) issues for him to follow this road:
1) though his yearly salary might be highest, his total compensation package would be smaller based upon the opt-out clause;
2) another player contract would have to eclipse his. If not...Oops!
3) his availability and performance would have to warrant any new deal offered to him by the Rams or any other team.
For the Rams, they get the flexibility of locking in the player to a lucrative (though smaller) contract that they can then use to settle other player contracts. If (God forbid) Donald were to get hurt and not regain his elite performance, then they've a built-in escape hatch where they don't get burned long-term
