Brandin Cooks Signs 5-Year Contract Extension with Rams Worth Reported $80M

The Los Angeles Rams have brought in Brandin Cooks for the long haul, announcing a five-year extension for the receiver Tuesday.

According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, the deal is worth $80 million and begins in 2019. He was already set to make $8-plus million in 2018.

L.A. acquired him in a trade with the New England Patriots in early April. The Rams gave up a first-round pick and a sixth-rounder in exchange for the receiver and a fourth-round selection.

It was the second time in two years the 24-year-old was traded, having moved from the New Orleans Saints to the Patriots last offseason.

Cooks has been an impact player. The 2014 first-round pick has topped 1,000 receiving yards with at least seven touchdowns in each of the last three years.

In 2017, he averaged a career-high 16.6 yards per catch, which ranked seventh in the league.

However, his contract was a question mark heading into his fifth and final year of his rookie deal, with the team option giving him a salary of nearly $8.5 million in 2018, per Spotrac.

Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk noted the potential financial problems for the Rams:

Still, Los Angeles felt it necessary to extend Cooks.

"Brandin Cooks has shown himself to be a class act on and off the field since the first day he joined our team," Rams head coach Sean McVay said Tuesday. "He's a proven professional in this league, and signing him to a long-term contract was always our goal. We're excited to keep Brandin in a Rams uniform through 2023."

The team is loaded offensively with a young quarterback in 23-year-old Jared Goff, an elite running back in Todd Gurley and an impact wideout in Cooks, all playing for one of the best offensive minds in the NFL, McVay.