How much cap space will Rams need to sign 2024 draft class?
The Los Angeles Rams began the draft with 11 draft picks but they finished with “only” 10 selections after trading up for Braden Fiske in Round 2. That was still one of the biggest hauls of any team, and with a first-round pick this year, the Rams’ 2024 class will cost more than most of their previous draft classes.
That doesn’t mean they need a huge amount of cap space in order to sign their 10 rookies, however.
Over The Cap lays out the amount of cap space each team needs in order to sign their draft class and the Rams rank 14th in terms of required cap space. According to Over The Cap, the Rams only need $3.6 million in cap space to get their class under contract.
That differs from the total cost in cap dollars, which is actually $11.55 million – seventh-highest in the NFL. There’s a wide gap between those two figures because rookies will be replacing players already counting against the cap, assuming their cap hits are larger than the ones of the players they’re replacing.
For example, Jared Verse’s 2024 cap hit is estimated to be $2.75 million, which would bump Alex Ward ($916,666) from the top-51 cutoff. Therefore, it’s a difference of only $1.59 million when it comes to cap space required to sign Verse.
Only four of the Rams’ 10 draft picks will have 2024 cap hits higher than players already on the roster. After Kamren Kinchens, the other six players will have lower cap hits, all below $900,000.
Currently, the Rams have $11.48 million in cap space, so they have plenty of room to get their class signed. After accounting for the rookies, they’ll have about $7.88 million available to spend on free agents the rest of the year.
