Quote
dzrams
I doubt the offer was anywhere close to $20M. When teams offer early extensions, they're not giving gigantic raises over the amount they could control the player than if the player played out their contract plus the franchise years. Gurley is a perfect example. The Rams could have controlled him for the next 4 years - '18 - '19 contract plus 2 franchise tag years - at an average of $10.18M per year. ($4.398285M '18 salary, $9.63M '19, $11.866M '20 tag, $14.833M '21 tag)
First yes teams do offer substantial increases in relation to the 1st rounders who re-negotiated in their third years. Watt went from an average of 2.8 a year in 2011 to 16.6 M in 2014. Kuechly .went from 4.7 M in 2012 to 12.3+ M in 2015. Do all the others and the results are similar.
Second no on negotiating these 3rd year for 1st rounders deals the market still counts. So the Rams (and Donald) would still have to factor in the Von Miller 19M/2016 deal for best defensive player. A 1 M increase over that in 2017 would have been substantially under value. It should actually have been more like 22=3 M in 2017. Now it's higher because it's yet another year, and now 21 M is under value.
So if they were offering nothing like 20 M in 2017, then, that's why there was no signing.