How much cap space do Rams have left after Monday’s free agent signings?

How the Rams can save a lot more money and sign more free agents this week

The L.A. Rams went to the trenches on the first day of free agency, signing guard Jonah Jackson and tight end Colby Parkinson to deals totaling over $73 million. Another way to put it is that the Rams allocated an average of $24 million per year to their cap with Jackson and Parkinson, news that comes days after L.A. agreed to pay Kevin Dotson a $16 million annual average salary.

The Rams entered free agency with over $40 million in 2024 cap space. How much do they probably have left right about now?

Rams 2024 cap

Before Jackson and Parkinson were added to the books, the Rams had about $29 million in cap space and $25 million in “effective” cap space according to Over the Cap.

The way more contracts work is that a large portion is paid out in the signing bonus, which is then spread out over the life of the contract, if not longer. Therefore a $10 million signing bonus for a two-year contract would incur two $5 million prorated bonus payments against both years of the salary cap, while the rest is base salary and other bonuses.

Jonah Jackson – 3/$51

Jackson’s contract was for three years and contained $34 million in guarantees. Typically a guarantee will consist of the signing bonus, the first year of the contract, and sometimes part or all of the second year of the contract. Browns guard Joel Bitonio signed almost an identical deal to Jackson’s, at least in years, total, and guaranteed money. In the first year of that contract, Bitonio carried a cap hit of $6.7 million.

This did include four void years on the deal, however. It’s unclear if either of the Rams contracts contains void years.

For the sake of simplicity, it would be fair to assume that Jackson’s contract carries a cap hit of roughly $7 to $9 million. That number is likely to increase to $17 million or more in 2025.

Colby Parkinson – 2/$22.5

I was expecting Parkinson to get the same contract as Vikings tight end Josh Oliver, another player who most fans probably weren’t aware of until he got paid. Oliver signed a three-year, $21 million contract with $10.7 million guaranteed. His first-year cap hit was $2.5 million and his deal had two void years on the back end.

Parkinson’s is like the cap-increased version of that: $22.5 million and $15.5 million guaranteed.

I would look for Parkinson’s first-year cap hit to be between $3-$5 million.

What do Rams have left?

If the Rams entered free agency with $29 million in TOTAL cap space for 2024, I think they will have spent about $10-$14 million of that on these two signings. If we average that to $12 million, then the Rams have $17 million in total cap space and $13 million in effective cap space.

What can you do with $13 million?

Plenty. As you can see, the Rams signed two starters (Parkinson isn’t really a starter but he will play a lot of snaps) for about $10 million or so in 2024 cap space. So the Rams could technically target three more key players in free agency alone.

But couldn’t the Rams have more cap space?

Yes, and they will. The Rams are looking for a way to keep Joe Noteboom without having to cut him. Noteboom has an absurd $20 million cap number, but he has a lot of leverage because L.A. only saves $5 million by releasing him. However, he has a $5 million bonus and a $10 million salary that he will not get if he’s released, so the Rams do have some leverage.

In Noteboom’s corner is the possibility that after seeing guards paid so much in free agency that he could go on the market and make more than $15 million on a new deal. His roster bonus is due next Monday, so a decision will come by then. The least likely outcome after signing Jackson is that the Rams will keep Noteboom on his current deal, so at worst the Rams will save $5 million. If they can get Noteboom to stay for a lot less, they could save even more.

But I’m thinking Noteboom will get cut and L.A. will eat the dead money this year and save $5 million. That gets the Rams back to $18 million in cap space.

Next, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Rams restructure Matthew Stafford’s contract to save an additional $20 million in cap space. This increases his 2025 cap hit from $50 million to $60 million, but that’s a little less crazy than it sounds in the modern era.

Another idea is to extend Aaron Donald, if he’s open to coming back and not retiring for at least two more years. He has a $34 million cap hit in 2024 and is a free agent in 2025.

Why do the Rams need cap space?

Well, the Rams have not done anything to address their defensive needs yet and they have three key players closer to the end of their careers than the beginning: Stafford, Donald, and Cooper Kupp. Targeting a wide receiver and a defensive tackle in free agency could help the Rams target a luxury pick with their first round selection, like quarterback, but that’s just one idea.

2024 seems like a good “all-in” moment for the L.A. Rams and while $13 million is more than most expected the Rams to have, $18 million is around the corner and $38 million+ is not that hard to reach. The free agent market lost a lot of good players on Monday, but plenty more are available.