Re: What is the comp pick rule?

I think the Rams would be OK if they signed any of these guys. (Or even all of these guys!)

The CBA says "Clubs that lose to other Clubs a greater number of CFAs than they sign or acquire from other Clubs shall be eligible to receive a Compensatory Draft Selection in the College Draft to be held in the following League Year ..." [overthecap.com]

"CFA" in this context is "Compensatory Free Agent", which as I understand it is a player who played out his contract and then signed with another team before 4:00pm EDT on the Monday after the draft. (Players who were released by their former team, or that had a Team Option that their former team didn't pick up, or sign after that Monday don't count in this formula.)

I think the Rams have lost 10 FAs so they could sign 6 FAs this year and still show a net loss of 4 CFAs, qualifying them for 4 comp picks. (Note: determining that the Rams have a net loss of 4 CFAs would be just the first step in the process of awarding comp picks. The NFL only hands out 32 comp picks in total so the Rams' 4 guys would have to qualify on a league-wide basis. This year they have that covered. In fact, they have 5 guys who qualify: Johnson, Ebukam, Everett, Hill, and Fox).

The value of the contracts for the CFAs lost and CFAs gained isn't a factor - just a straight net loss of CFAs is all that is considered. The only time I could find where the value of the contracts matter is when a team gains the same number of CFAs as they lose. Then, according to wiki, if the team loses more value than it gains, it could be awarded one 7th round pick.

"Teams that gain and lose equal numbers of players but lose higher-valued players can also be awarded a single seventh-round pick." [en.wikipedia.org]

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AlbaNY_Ram