Cooper Kupp is too valuable not to run up the price on the Rams

It’s not about how much you’re worth, it’s about how much you can convince someone to pay you. But, you should always ask for more just for the hell of it.

Rams star wide receiver Cooper Kupp says he isn’t trying to bankrupt the franchise as he’s up for a contract extension at a moment when his colleagues are getting paid and setting the market. Stefon Diggs, Davante Adams, and Tyreek Hill are all set to make somewhere between $24 to $30 million per year due to their new contracts. However none of them accomplished what Kupp did in 2021, despite the 28-year-old saying he’s “not trying to beat anybody.”

“I don’t think that’s really kind of the approach that I take,” said Kupp. “I definitely think there’s a place you want to be. There’s a place that you feel like is fair. A place for me and for this organization. ... I’m not trying to beat anybody. I’m not trying to compare myself to anyone else. It’s more about being in a place that’s just right for both sides.”

I wonder what his agent thinks about this.

After a season in which Kupp led the NFL in receptions (145), receiving touchdowns (16), and receiving yards (1,947) — a feat that only Jerry Rice, Sterling Sharpe, and Steve Smith Jr. have done since the merger — Kupp balled out in the postseason with 40 catches for 596 yards and 7 touchdowns, as he was named Offensive Player of the Year and Super Bowl MVP after a season in which he was trying to become the first wide receiver to ever win MVP.

“Well, I think it’s important to be here, be around the guys and be around this team,” Kupp said about his situation. “The goal at the end of the day is to win a world title. Whatever is going to get us in a place where we can compete for another world title, put us in a better position where we can be a better football team, that’s the goal. I think the best thing I can do is to be a part of that ...”

To date, Spotrac has Kupp down as earning a little over $23 million in his career. But given this production, that should be the amount he receives, at minimum, per year in his new deal. And not just because he’s proven he’s worth it, but because that’s the new going rate of a player of his caliber.

Get that money, Coop. The team you play for just spent $5 billion on a stadium. Trust me, they can afford to give you a raise.