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The Detroit Lions made huge news on Saturday night when they agreed to send quarterback Matthew Stafford to the Los Angeles Rams for Jared Goff, two first-round picks and a third-round pick in return.
While most of the attention has been on draft picks – and understandably, two first-round picks is a huge comeback – there are financial implications to this deal too. With Jared Goff comes a pretty big deal, and one that well replaces the savings the Lions get by sending Stafford to the West Coast.
Let’s break it all down.
Money saved with the Stafford expedition
In 2021, Matthew Stafford was expected to cost the Lions $ 33 million in cap space with a base salary of $ 9.5 million, a roster bonus of $ 10 million due on the fifth day of the championship year. 2021 and training bonuses along the way.
But firing him will only cost $ 19million against the Lions cap in 2021 immediately freeing up $ 14 million in ceiling space.
The Rams are paying the $ 9.5 million salary, the $ 10 million roster bonus, and the $ 500,000 practice bonus to a cap of just $ 20 million for them.
Implications of the Jared Goff Agreement
The Lions have undoubtedly done the Rams a favor by taking the Goff deal off their plate. However, it almost certainly helped the Lions get more draft capital which they are most interested in as this is a rebuild for the future. Eating a cap for the next two years is worth it for them if that means more young players on rookie deals. But how much cap, exactly, do they eat?
The Rams were in a situation where they were going to have to eat $ 35, $ 33 and $ 32.5 million caps over the next three seasons with Goff, and cutting him would only make it worse. Instead, they’ll assume a cap of $ 22.2 million when negotiating it, gaining $ 12.75 million in cap space in the process.
The Lions will only assume the remaining guarantees on Goff’s contract, which include his salary of $ 25.325 million in 2021. Add a bonus of $ 2.5 million for 2021 that the Lions will almost certainly give in 2021 – the Lions reportedly told Goff that he’s part of their future plans – and you’ve got a cap of $ 27.825 million for this year.
Next year, Goff has a list bonus that’s already guaranteed to be $ 15.5 million. This is the last guaranteed bonus remaining on Goff’s contract. So if Goff stays in 2022, he will cost the Lions the $ 15.5 million guarantee plus his unsecured base salary of $ 10 million for a collective cap of $ 25.5 million. However, if the Lions are to move on, they will simply owe Goff that $ 15.5 million and save $ 10 million in cap space.
After that, the Lions returned home for free. No guaranteed money left over Goff’s last two years (2023, 2024) means Detroit can cut him without penalty. If they keep it, here are the numbers:
2023: Base salary of $ 20 million + alignment bonus of $ 5 million = cap of $ 25 million reached
2024: Base salary of $ 21 million + alignment bonus of $ 5 million + cap of $ 26 million reached
Year-by-year breakdown
Here is the financial breakdown by year:
2021:
- Lions free up $ 14 million in Stafford contract cap space
- Lions assume $ 27.825million cap on Goff contract
Net: $ 13.825 million added to the cap
2022:
- $ 25.5million cap hit if Goff stays in squad
- $ 15.5 million cap reached if Lions cut Goff ($ 10 million in savings)
2023:
- $ 25million cap reached if Goff stays on squad
- $ 0 cap reached if Lions cut Goff ($ 25 million in savings)
2024:
- $ 26million cap reached if Goff stays on squad
- $ 0 cap reached if Lions cut Goff ($ 26 million in savings)
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