"Tom Brady took less" - Matthew Stafford urged to take pay cut for Rams to retain OBJ and Von Miller
After 12 seasons with the Detroit Lions, a trade to the Los Angeles Rams led quarterback Matthew Stafford to his first Super Bowl win in his first season in Los Angeles. At the Rams' Super Bowl parade on Wednesday afternoon, players and fans in the crowd chanted "Run it Back" in reference to repeating their title win again next season.
But for the Rams, that won't be an easy task. Los Angeles have made a lot of significant moves to put this current team together, which included money and draft picks.
On ESPN's Get Up! on Thursday morning, the question posed was, "Will the Los Angeles Rams be able to win again next season?"
Football reporter and former New York Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum's response was that in order to do so, quarterback Matthew Stafford will need to take a pay cut. Tannenbaum referred to Tom Brady, who renegotiated his contract to keep his team together after their Super Bowl win.
"In all seriousness," Tannenbaum said, "it really starts in my opinion with Matthew Stafford. When you look at the success of Tom Brady and the Buccaneers had, Tom Brady took less and that's setting the tone for everybody else to take a little bit less. If they want OBJ back, Von Miller back, Matt Stafford should take a little bit less. That's the best way to keep everybody together."
Rams Super Bowl Parade: McVay and Donald aren’t going anywhere! Run it back! #RamsHouse #RamsParade https://t.co/K4TWTVMaWm
Tannenbaum said that the only way to retain wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. and linebacker Von Miller is if the quarterback takes a pay cut. This would obviously benefit the quarterback if he wants another chance at a second Super Bowl win.
How much is QB Matthew Stafford set to make in 2022?
When the Los Angeles Rams traded for quarterback Matthew Stafford, they also took on his hefty contract. In August 2017, he signed a five-year contract extension worth $135 million with $92 million guaranteed.
: #SBLVI on NBC
: bit.ly/3oGmfNCAn absolute DIME from Stafford has the Rams in Bengals territory. #RamsHouse
📺: #SBLVI on NBC
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His base salary for 2022 is $12.5 million. He will also receive a bonus of $10 million and a workout bonus of $500,000, which leads to a cap hit of around $23 million for the Los Angeles Rams.
If the Rams can renegotiate the quarterback's contract as well as other hefty contracts on the team, they could possibly free up nearly $50 million of salary cap space, or perhaps even more. This would allow them to retain players like Von Miller and Odell Beckham Jr., who were both integral parts in the Rams' Super Bowl win.