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4XPIPS wrote:I saw a link that Cooper Kupp is designated to be traded. From his recent post he doesn't seem to thrilled about it, and wanted to stay in LA. I didn't realize he came into the league as a 24 year old rookie, he is only one year younger than Lockett. However, loosing a healthy Kupp will be a key loss for the Rams, as he was a pivotal part of their offense. Looks like his contract isn't beneficial to cut him, so it looks like the Rams are sourcing a trade to save money on him.

Kupp is due to make $20 million in 2025, in the form of a $12.5 million salary and a $7.5 million roster bonus. Last year, $5 million of the bonus became fully guaranteed.

His days of making $20 million per year seem to be over. If a new team expects him to take less as part of a trade, all he has to do is refuse — and the end result is that the Rams will have to pay him the full $20 million or cut him and owe $5 million.
That could require the Rams to commit to paying more of the $20 million, in order to work out a trade. They’d basically be trading Kupp and cash/cap space for whatever they can get from a new team by way of one or more draft picks.

They also could pay Kupp the $7.5 million roster bonus and squat on his non-guaranteed salary pending a potential trade. That would make it harder for Kupp to find a landing spot, if he’s cut too late in the offseason to get a contract approaching his current market value.

In the end, the entire exercise could be aimed at getting Kupp to take less. If/when he realizes that no one else is willing to pay him more than what the Rams are willing to pay on a reduced deal, he might decide to take the $7.5 million plus whatever else the Rams offer for 2025. With a contract that currently runs through 2026, the revised agreement could rip up the final year, making him a free agent next March.