Woods is already signed thru 2021 so a true extension wouldn't kick in until 2022. Woods will be 30 at the start of the 2022 season. How much do you pay a 30 year old WR who has played 9 years in the NFL?
Would they give him 2 years, $32M? Seems like a lot now, but in 2022 & 2023 it might not seem so bad. And if they give him say a $10M signing bonus he gets that money immediately (which is why I think they're talking extension now instead of next year - to get some more money in Woods' hands ASAP.) If this was written as a straight extension then Woods would get that $10M when he signed the extension but there would be no impact on the cap in 2020 or 2021.
If this is what the Rams did I might think of it this way:
Woods' current contract pays him $7M in 2020 ($2M roster bonus plus $5M salary) and another $9M in salary for 2021. The $10M signing bonus could be considered additional pay for these next 2 years, essentially giving him a total of $26M for the 2020 and 2021 seasons. His cap hit for those 2 years would not change from their current levels: $8.175M this year and $10.175M in 2021.
Then in 2022 and 2023 the 30/31-year old Woods would collect another $22M (although the Rams would have to account for $32M in cap hit across those 2 years). Maybe something as simple as this:
2022: cap hit $15M ($10M salary plus $5M pro-rated signing bonus)
2023: cap hit $17M ($12M salary plus $5M pro-rated signing bonus)
Another option would be to scrap the last 2 years of his current contract and write a new 4-year deal instead. They would only do this if they want to change his cap hit for this year and/or next year. The Rams seem to be OK this year but might want a little more wiggle room next year. They would have to add the $14M they still owe him to the $32M hypothetical extension and do a 4 year, $46M deal ... possibly with a $12M signing bonus? A way to do that:
2020 cap hit $8.175M ($2M salary, $3M pro-rated signing bonus from his new deal, $1.175M pro-rated signing bonus from his current deal, $2M roster bonus they already paid him) <== same cap hit as his current deal
2021 cap hit $8.175M ($4M salary, $3M pro-rated signing bonus from his new deal, $1.175M pro-rated signing bonus from his current deal) <== $2M savings!!
2022 cap hit $16M ($13M salary, $3M pro-rated signing bonus from his new deal) <== maybe guarantee this salary?
2023 cap hit $18M ($15M salary, $3M pro-rate signing bonus from his new deal)
AlbaNY_Ram
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/14/2020 04:01PM by AlbaNY_Ram.
