For the second time this week, the Los Angeles Rams handed out a sizable contract to one of their biggest stars. Just two days after signing Aaron Donald to a $95 million deal, they extended Cooper Kupp with a three-year contract worth $80 million.
Kupp now gets $110 million over the next five years, keeping him under contract through 2026. In new money, Kupp is making about $26.7 million per year, and he’s now the 11th wide receiver to earn more than $20 million annually; over five years, Kupp gets $22 million per year.
But how does the contract break down year by year? Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio got a look at the deal and shared the finer details of the three-year pact. According to Florio, Kupp gets $35 million fully guaranteed at signing, and another $20 million becomes fully guaranteed next March. His base salaries are $10 million, $15 million, $15 million, $12.5 million and $14.85 million in the next five years, and his signing bonus was $20 million.
What fans will be most interested in is Kupp’s cap hit in 2022. They’ll be pleased to know that the Rams continued their trend of lowering a player’s cap hit after extending him, dropping Kupp’s number from $18.6 million to $17.8 million, according to Spotrac.
Here’s the full year-by-year breakdown of Kupp’s cap hits.
2022: $17.8 million
2023: $27.8 million
2024: $26.3 million
2025: $26.3 million
2026: $23.85 million
Unlike Donald’s contract, the Rams didn’t use void years on Kupp’s deal. It’s a true five-year deal through 2026, so they won’t have any dead money left over after the contract ends.
If they want to get out of the deal, they can cut Kupp in 2025 and save $16 million in cap space. If they cut him in 2026, they’ll save $19.85 million.
It’s a fairly straightforward deal for Kupp and the Rams, with no incentives or options built-in. So as long as everything goes according to plan, he’ll be on the team for the next five years.
