Jared Goff's Big Extension With Rams Not a Matter of If, But When

Unless Los Angeles Rams fourth-year quarterback Jared Goff has a massive hangover of a season following the Rams loss to New England in Super Bowl LIII, he should be on his way to earning that coveted $100-plus million contract extension.

Barring any injury or setbacks, Goff’s extension is coming, especially after Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz earned his big payday last week. Wentz’s four-year, $128 million extension, with $107 million guaranteed,  will set up fellow 2016 draftees like Goff and Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott for $100-plus million extensions soon.

Goff states that he’s not worried about it, but when your peer gets a massive payday, it’s safe to assume the Rams quarterback has to be thinking of it.

“You definitely think about it,” Goff said Tuesday to the Associated Press. “But at the same time, I know that none of that is even possible without playing on the field and being available on the field. I’ll just continue to do what I’ve been doing the last few years, and, hopefully, it will take care of itself.”

Goff is currently in line to receive $4.26 million this year and $22.783 million from his rookie contract in 2020. The Rams could franchise tag him the following two seasons after that, keeping him under team control for the next four seasons.

“Whether it ends up happening this year or next year, there is a zero percent chance this guy’s not gonna get an extension he’s worthy of,” Rams head coach Sean McVay said on Thursday. “All the narratives out there are wrong. Jared and I couldn’t be more connected, and I couldn’t be more appreciative of him as our leader. He is so vital and important to us and our success. That extension will get done. It’s a matter of when, not if.”

Whenever Goff’s deal gets done, whether it’s this season or next, he should be in line for a bigger payday than Wentz received from the Eagles.

Goff has a few things going against him that could delay his extension and even the possibility that he doesn’t get extended. He’s played in two fewer career regular season games than Wentz despite Wentz’s absence due to his injuries. Goff didn’t take the field until Week 11 of the 2016 season where he lost all seven of his rookie starts under center. Goff played in a Super Bowl and lost while Wentz guided the Eagles to one of their best seasons leading up to the Super Bowl in 2017 before getting injured in, ironically enough, Los Angeles.

Goff’s lame-duck performance in the Super Bowl might not have the Rams rushing to get an extension. He completed 19-of-38 of his passes for just 229 yards with an interception in Super Bowl LIII, a stark contrast from the numbers he and the Rams offense were putting up during the regular season. He only worse performance than the Super Bowl was when he threw for just 180 yards with four interceptions in a 15-6 loss at the Chicago Bears in Week 13 last year.

For what its worth, Wentz earned an extension for what he did during the regular season over the last three years. He provided consistency on the field with massive success. However, unlike Goff, he’s never played in a playoff game, let alone a Super Bowl.

Goff’s played very well in the last two seasons under McVay, throwing for 8,492 yards with 60 touchdowns and 19 interceptions in 31 starts. The question is if Goff is succeeding purely because of the system, or if he’s really growing as a quarterback.

“With what Jared has done over the last couple of years, you can’t argue with the production, and how good we feel about him being our quarterback,” McVay said. “And we intend for that to be for a long time.”

NFL teams usually wait until after a quarterback’s fourth season to decide whether or not to extend them. That’s usually the end of the rookie deal. The Eagles extended Wentz quickly after two injury-plagued seasons. The Rams could simply be waiting on the right time for Goff.

McVay explains why Goff deserves the extension clearly.

“He’s an outstanding leader. People make a deal about this system, (but) he’s the reason why (it works),” he explained. “Our players are the reason why the system is what it is, because (Goff) can do so many different things. … He’s got true ownership, a great ability to communicate with his teammates, and with him leading the way, we feel really good.”

All signs point to Goff as the face and future of the Rams’ franchise. It’s just a matter of when the Rams decide to properly pay him as such.