The Detroit Lions made big news on Saturday night by agreeing 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 focus is on the concept choices – and understandably two first-round choices is a huge return – there are also financial implications of this deal. With Jared Goff comes a pretty significant deal, and one that far exceeds the savings the Lions get by sending Stafford to the west coast.
Let’s break it all down.
Money saved by shipping Stafford
In 2021, Matthew Stafford would cost the Lions $ 33 million in cap space with a base salary of $ 9.5 million, a $ 10 million roster bonus due on the fifth day of the 2021 competition year, and workout bonuses along the way.
But sending him away will cost him just $ 19 million against the Lions cap in 2021 immediately free up $ 14 million in cap space.
The Rams take over the $ 9.5 million salary, the $ 10 million roster bonus, and the $ 500,000 in training bonuses for a maximum hit of just $ 20 million for them.
Implications of Jared Goff deal
The Lions have no doubt been doing the Rams a favor by taking Goff’s deal off their plates. However, it almost certainly got the Lions more pulling capital, which is what they’re more interested in as this is a rebuild for the future. Eating a cap for the next two years is worth it if it means getting more young players on vegetable deals. But exactly how much shell do they eat?
The Rams found themselves in a situation where they would have to eat $ 35, $ 33, and $ 32.5 million caphits with Goff for the next three seasons, and cutting him out would have only made things worse. Instead, they assume a cap of $ 22.2 million by trading it, earning $ 12.75 million in cap space.
The Lions are only relying on the remaining guarantees on Goff’s contract, including his $ 25,325 million salary in 2021. Throw in a $ 2.5 million roster bonus for 2021 that the Lions will almost certainly spend in 2021 – the Lions have reportedly told Goff that he’s part of their future plans – and you have a maximum of $ 27,825 million this year.
Next year, Goff has a roster bonus already guaranteed of $ 15.5 million. That’s the last remaining guaranteed bonus on Goff’s contract. So if Goff stays in 2022, he’ll cost the Lions that guaranteed $ 15.5 million plus his unguaranteed base salary of $ 10 million for a collective maximum of $ 25.5 million. However, if the Lions want to move on, they owe Goff that $ 15.5 million roster fee and save $ 10 million in cap space.
After that, the Lions are home for free. No guaranteed money left over from Goff’s last two years (2023, 2024) means Detroit can cut him down without penalty. If they keep it, here are the numbers:
2023: $ 20 million base salary + $ 5 million roster bonus = $ 25 million cap hit
2024: $ 21 million base salary + $ 5 million roster bonus + $ 26 million cap hit
Breakdown from year to year
This is the financial breakdown by year:
2021:
- Lions are releasing $ 14 million in cap space from Stafford’s contract
- Lions estimate that Goff’s contract brought in $ 27,825 million in capturing
Net: $ 13.825 million added to the limit
2022:
- $ 25.5 million cap hit if Goff stays on the team
- $ 15.5 million cap hit as Lions cut Goff ($ 10 million in savings)
2023:
- $ 25 million cap hit if Goff stays on the team
- $ 0 cap hit as Lions cut Goff ($ 25 million in savings)
2024:
- $ 26 million cap hit if Goff stays on the team
- $ 0 cap hit as Lions cut Goff ($ 26 million in savings)