“Is the cap fake?” - Former NFL executive outlines how Rams are avoiding cap regulations amid Cooper Kupp and Aaron Donald signings

Watching the Los Angeles Rams sign Cooper Kupp and Aaron Donald is like watching an experienced tax accountant wipe away a tax bill. At least, that is roughly how one former NFL team executive essentially explained how the Rams are signing big-time players to big money with few sacrifices.

Speaking on The Pat McAfee Show, former NFL team executive Andrew Brandt distilled down the Rams' highly technical accounting process into its most basic form.

“So now we get to your question: 'Is the cap fake?' It's not fake. But there is a loophole within the cap system that is not in the NBA, that's not in the NHL, where you can do proration, proration is the magic for teams that are struggling with a cap."

He continued, explaining the process as simply as possible:

"They simply push out the cap and add voidable years to the end, which are dummy years, just for proration purposes, and they can pay way over the cap. So you have to understand this cash is hard cold cash. It's not a cash cap. It's [simple] accounting.”

In other words, the way the money is counted is the true cap. Basically, the actual money can be slapped with a different label, thus side-stepping the cap process.

Of course, the step-by-step process is highly technical and full of math and jargon. Yet, this is essentially what the Los Angeles Rams did to push the payment pass the cap regulations.

What are Cooper Kupp and Aaron Donald making now?

Cooper Kupp and Aaron Donald have got lucrative extensions from the Los Angeles Rams

As of now, the Super Bowl MVP is signed through to 2026, according to Spotrac. Cooper Kupp is entering this season at the age of 29 and will conclude the contract at the age of 34. It means this could be his final contract. At 34-years-old, Kupp would be well within retirement age.

As for the numbers, Kupp could make as much as roughly $110 million between now and 2026. As for the soonest the team could cut him and save money, 2025 would be the earliest year, when the quarterback is due $20 million but has a dead cap hit of $10.3 million.

Meanwhile, the language is complicated, but Aaron Donald is guaranteed to be signed through to 2024 on his current deal. At the end of his current contract, the pass rusher will be 33 years old. His earliest out comes after 2023 when his salary becomes $35 million, but his dead cap hit drops to $19.5 million.

This could also be Donald's final contract since at 33 years old, the pass rusher would be at a typical retirement age for his position.