How Cooper Kupp, Jalen Ramsey Contracts Impact Rams' Salary-Cap Space

The Los Angeles Rams agreed to a three-year, $48 million contract extension Saturday with wide receiver Cooper Kupp, retaining Jared Goff's favorite target through the 2023 season, per Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo of NFL Network.

The Rams had completed a five-year, $100 million extension with cornerback Jalen Ramsey on Wednesday.

Kupp, 27, was heading into the final year of his rookie contract. He is set to make $2.1 in base salary after making less than $1 million in each of his first three seasons.

The Rams and Kupp took a while to get talking about a new deal.

"We haven't done anything yet," Kupp told reporters in April. "There's so much going on in the world right now, so much stuff that is happening, it's really not a priority at this time."

As the NFL returned to business as usual, the two sides started talking numbers. Kupp had a breakout 2019 season, recording career highs in receptions (94), yards (1,161) and touchdowns (10) and leading the Rams in all three categories.

Still, it was far from a no-brainer that a deal would get done. The Rams have a top-heavy roster and paid big dead-money cap hits to trade Brandin Cooks and release Todd Gurley this offseason. With Goff and Aaron Donald inked to long-term deals and Ramsey joining them, it would not have been a surprise for the Rams to wait things out with Kupp.

Though the wideout's new deal won't take effect this season—the Rams are an estimated $7.6 million under the salary cap, per Spotrac—it will put the front office under further pressure in the future.

L.A. was already $6.7 million over the projected 2021 cap based on its top-51 roster before the Kupp deal, according to Spotrac.

It's always possible to shift money around, particularly by converting base salaries into signing bonuses, but the lack of available funds could make it difficult for the Rams to seek upgrades next offseason since they'll also need to budget for their signed draft picks.

Teams, especially those in the Super Bowl conversation, are typically willing to create future financial questions if they can lock down their key contributors. That's what the Rams have done with the Kupp and Ramsey extensions, and they'll worry about the cap crunch later.