Cooper Kupp completed one of the greatest seasons in wide receiver history, leading the NFL in receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns. The breakthrough star then delivered throughout the Rams’ playoff run, adding 478 yards to his regular-season total to finish his 21-game season with a preposterous 2,425.
The veteran slot receiver entered the offseason tied to a three-year deal worth $48MM — one he signed in September 2020. Kupp’s Matthew Stafford partnership produced a season in which the former Division I-FCS prospect eclipsed his previous single-season yardage best by more than 700, and that performance led to offseason renegotiations. Rather than a restructure or a one-year bump, Kupp scored a three-year, $80MM extension. Becoming the rare player to sign two big-ticket accords less than two years apart, Kupp is now a top-five wage-earner at his position.
Kupp, 29, said he did not push to be the league’s highest-paid receiver, instead joining Stafford in working toward an extension that made sense for both team and player. The Super Bowl LVI MVP is closer to the NFL’s highest-paid wideout than Stafford is to being its highest-paid QB, at $26.7MM per year (the fourth-highest receiver AAV), however. Then again, receivers do not have as many chances to cash in compared to quarterbacks.
“There was a lot of trust involved on each side, that we wouldn’t come to this place and treat it like a negotiation at all. We tried to have a conversation and figure out what it looks like for them, balancing the things that were important for them and the things that were important for us,” Kupp said, via Albert Breer of SI.com.
“And how can we get to a place where we’re, at the end, both shaking hands and feeling good, both feeling good about what we have ahead of us? We were able to have that conversation, and it’s not writing a number on a piece of paper and just passing it back and forth until you whittle each other down. The collaborative approach, to me, just allowed us to fully understand it and find that place.”
Los Angeles’ third Kupp contract, which came with $70MM in total guarantees, runs through the 2026 season. While this accord only includes $35MM guaranteed at signing (13th among wideouts), Breer adds $35MM shifts from an injury guarantee to a full guarantee in March 2023. With Kupp all but certain to be on the Rams’ roster at that point, he is poised to collect that full $70MM amount.
Kupp and Aaron Donald‘s deals created nearly $4MM in Rams cap space this year, but the former’s numbers spike in 2023. Kupp will be tied to his largest cap number of the deal ($27.8MM) next year, per OverTheCap.com. Of the defending champions’ big three extensions this offseason, only Donald’s — a defender-record $31.6MM-per-year agreement — used void years to spread out the cap hits.
Not bad for an Ellensberg sprouted player. Have to give a high five to the Rams Scouts!
Pride of yakima wa. Easter wa University in Cheney.
Supposed to say have 2 or 3 year window
It’s so cool when players care more about winning games than salary competitions.
I don’t really even understand why hogging the biggest possible piece of the cap for yourself when there are so many other guys on your “team” is even a point of pride.
The level of greed required to be proud about demanding every penny knowing it comes from your teammates is a little gross.
And it’s really not part of the competitive thing because weaker teammates and a fatter bank account have nothing to do with winning.
Thank for the correction on location, Central WA verses Eastern, I screwed that up!
What he received from Sams team is likely just his agents milking an owner.
I do agree with the premise that ALL professional players, except maybe hockey, are paid too much. I mean how much money does a person need for a ‘lifetime earning’ ?