Pro Football Rumors
As part of this week’s blockbuster Myles Garrett trade, the Rams agreed to take on a contract which was the NFL’s most lucrative non-QB deal when it was signed. No immediate changes to it are forthcoming.
The Rams do not intend to adjust Garrett’s existing contract, Jourdan Rodrigue and Zac Jackson of The Athletic report. The pact – which was agreed to last year and resulted in a trade request being rescinded – runs through 2030. It carries an average annual value of $40MM, a figure which briefly represented the new high point for the EDGE market.
Thanks to the contract tweak which pushed back the payment date for Garrett’s option bonuses, he is owed a total of $31.5MM in guaranteed money from the Rams for 2026. The reigning Defensive Player of the Year also has $41.7MM locked in for 2027. Option bonuses are scheduled throughout the life of the deal, but no salaries are guaranteed from 2028 onwards. It would come as little surprise if a restructure of some kind were to take place, but nothing is currently imminent.
“I will say this for [agent] Nicole [Lynn],” Rams GM Les Snead said when addressing the trade (via Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio). “We wouldn’t have been able to get this done without us working pretty tirelessly since the weekend. We didn’t have a lot of time to discuss contract, but thank you, Nicole.”
Garrett waived his no-trade clause to help facilitate the deal, one which saw fellow Pro Bowl edge rusher Jared Verse and three picks head to Cleveland. A raise would help reflect Garrett’s importance to his new team while also keeping pace with surges in the pass rush market. Since the five-time All-Pro inked his 2025 extension, each of Danielle Hunter, T.J. Watt, Aidan Hutchinson, Micah Parsons and Will Anderson Jr. have signed deals carrying a higher AAV. Anderson’s new Texans contract currently sets the pace at an average of $50MM per year.
Agreeing to terms on a similar pact would of course be challenging for the Rams, given their financial commitments over the short term in particular to a number of expensive veterans. Los Angeles also has a group of key players nearing the end of their rookie contracts who will be due healthy raises in the near future. Maintaining the rest of the defensive front Garrett will now operate as a member of, for instance, will require several big-money commitments.
For now, at least, Garrett’s attention will be aimed at acclimating to a new team for the first time in his decorated career. It will be interesting to see when talks on a restructure or extension commence and whether or not an agreement can be reached.
