Detroit Lions brought great news on Saturday night by agreeing to send quarterback Matthew Stafford to the Los Angeles Rams for Jared Goff, two choices in the first round and one choice in the third in return.
While most of the attention has been on draft choices – and understandably, two choices in the first round are a big payoff – there are also financial implications for this deal. With Jared Goff comes a very significant agreement, which outweighs the savings that Lions gain from sending Stafford to the west coast.
Lets break everything.
Money saved by shipping Stafford
In 2021, Matthew Stafford was expected to cost Lions $ 33 million in maximum space with a base salary of $ 9.5 million, a $ 10 million list bonus due on the fifth day of the 2021 league year and workout along the way.
But by sending him away, he will cost only $ 19 million against the Lions ceiling in 2021. releasing $ 14 million in cap space immediately.
The Rams receive a salary of $ 9.5 million, a list bonus of $ 10 million and a $ 500,000 training bonus for a limit of just $ 20 million for them.
Implications of Jared Goff’s business
The Lions undoubtedly did the Rams a favor by taking the Goff deal off the plate. Lions are almost certain to have more loot capital in return, which is what they are most interested in, as this is a reconstruction for the future. Winning the roof for the next two years is worth it for them, if that means more young players in rookie business. But how much cap, exactly, are they eating?
The Rams were in a situation where they would have to eat $ 35, $ 33 and $ 32.5 million cap hits over the next three seasons with Goff, and cutting him off would only make things worse. Instead, they will be assuming a $ 22.2 million limit reached when trading it, earning $ 12.75 million in limit space in the process.
Lions will only take on the remaining guarantees of the Goff contract, which include their $ 25.325 million salary in 2021. Play a $ 2.5 million list bonus for 2021, Lions will almost certainly give in 2021 – Lions would have told Goff that he’s part of his future plans – and you have a cap of $ 27.825 million for this year.
Next year, Goff has a guaranteed bonus of $ 15.5 million. This is the last guaranteed bonus remaining in the Goff contract. Therefore, if Goff remains in 2022, he will cost Lions that guaranteed $ 15.5 million plus his base $ 10 million unsecured base salary for a collective cap of $ 25.5 million. However, if Lions want to move forward, they owe Goff only that $ 15.5 million on the list and save $ 10 million in coverage space.
After that, Lions return home free of charge. No guaranteed money remaining in Goff’s last two years (2023, 2024) means that Detroit can eliminate him without penalty. If you keep it, here are the numbers:
2023: $ 20 million base salary + $ 5 million on-call bonus = $ 25 million success limit
2024: $ 21 million base salary + $ 5 million on-call bonus + $ 26 million success limit
Detailing year by year
Here is the financial breakdown by year:
2021:
- Lions released $ 14 million in cap space under the Stafford contract
- Lions take on $ 27.825 million under Goff contract limit
Net: $ 13.825 million added to the limit
2022:
- $ 25.5 million limit reached if Goff remains on the team
- $ 15.5 million limit reached if Lions cut the Goff ($ 10 million savings)
2023:
- $ 25 million limit reached if Goff remains on the team
- $ 0 limit reached if Lions cut the Goff ($ 25 million savings)
2024:
- $ 26 million limit reached if Goff remains on the team
- $ 0 limit reached if Lions cut the Goff ($ 26 million savings)