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One of the considerations that the L.A. Rams have to make with regards to having two first round picks is just how much it affects the team’s salary cap. Despite a season in which the Rams own draft pick only falls at 29 because they reached the NFC Championship, L.A. has the 11th-most draft capital in the 2026 because they also have the Atlanta Falcons’ 13th pick.
With these two picks leading the way, the Rams must allocate $15.4 million in 2026 cap space to their rookie class according to OvertheCap.com. That is assuming that the Rams don’t make any draft pick trades, which seems probable.
Conversely because they made the trade on the other side, the Falcons have to pay the least amount for their rookie class at $6.2 million.
How much do Rams first round picks cost?
According to Spotrac, these are the costs of the Rams first round picks:
- 13th overall: $24.5 million for 4 years, $4.45 million in year 1
- 29th overall: $17.4 million for 4 years, $3.16 million in year 1
Those contracts are fully-guaranteed and come with a fifth-year option.
As you can tell by now, the $7.6 million for L.A.’s two first round picks is basically half of all the money they must allocate for their rookie class in 2026.
It’s hard to picture why the Rams would use both picks to trade up at this point because everyone believes that the Las Vegas Raiders are going to draft Fernando Mendoza, the only quarterback who most people think is worthy of an early pick this year, but a top-5 pick would cost over $45 million total and over $8 million in year 1. That’s more than the combined value of both of the Rams first round picks.
Rams 2026 cap space
The Rams are currently projected at $48.2 million, which is not final. A $15 million draft class eats almost one-third of that, making other decisions like whether the team should restructure players including A.J. Jackson, all the more important and clear.
However, if the Rams get an offer to trade their first round pick for one in 2027 like they did with the Falcons in 2025, then they’d be saving that money this year and pushing their financial commitments back again.
That might not be a bad idea. It’s just a matter of how much they love the prospects who are available and how badly another team wants to move up, similar to the surprise of the Falcons falling for James Pearce at pick 26.
A decision that they surely regret now.
It’s about value, not just pick numbers
The focus of the draft is always on “what picks do you have and who are the prospects?” but sometimes it’s just as much about “how much do those players cost?” Oftentimes those players are not going to be worth it, other times they’re extraordinary values, and that’s the question we should be more interested in than anything else.