Myles Garrett’s next contract question looms for Rams

After Myles Garrett reset the market with a $40 million-per-year new contract in 2025, the NFL’s top pass-rusher pay scale has jumped again—most recently to $50 million per year with Will Anderson Jr. Now the Rams face a clear follow-up: whether they sweeten G

Myles Garrett didn’t just arrive in Los Angeles—he arrived with leverage built into the dollars.

In February 2025, Garrett made a case to be traded out of Cleveland. The Browns responded by “throwing money at the problem,” ending with a new contract that, at the time, made him the highest-paid non-quarterback in the NFL at $40 million per year in new-money average.

That contract didn’t just change Garrett’s trajectory. The market moved.

Since then, it has spiked by 25 percent. Packers linebacker Micah Parsons kicked things off, followed by Texans linebacker Will Anderson Jr., whose deal pushed the bar to $50 million per year. The numbers kept climbing, even as the Rams worked to bring Garrett into their building.

Rams general manager Les Snead addressed the situation briefly during his introductory press conference on Tuesday. He specifically referenced agent Nicole Lynn while talking about how the team got Garrett’s deal done. “I will say this for [agent] Nicole [Lynn],” Snead said. “We wouldn’t have been able to get this done without us working pretty tirelessly since the weekend. We didn’t have a lot of time to discuss contract, but thank you, Nicole.”.

Now the Rams have time.

The question is what comes next for Garrett after the trade that brought him to Los Angeles—an acquisition that cost three draft picks and Jared Verse. If the Rams value Garrett the way they clearly do, the value has to show up in his compensation package.

That leaves two practical pathways. One option is that the Rams give Garrett a new contract now, folding the rising market into his next payday. The other is that they kick the decision down the road for a year and pay him $30.5 million for 2026.

The timing matters because the market has already been reset multiple times since Garrett’s deal. Last year, Garrett set the market; the market has been reset, multiple times, since then. And while Garrett’s career earnings through 2025 have passed $150 million—and while he has finally gotten his chance to play for a winner—there’s still plenty of reason for him to pursue full and fair value while the window is open.

There’s also the question of what Garrett could have done differently when he walked through the door. The story here isn’t just about what the Rams must decide—it’s about what Garrett didn’t force at the time. He could have insisted on a new deal as part of his move, including tying it to his no-trade clause. The text of the situation points to what that lever might have looked like: Garrett could have hinged waiving his no-trade clause on a contract that moved his new-money APY to $50.1 million. or more.

But now that the current deal is already in place, it becomes “a little trickier” for Garrett to ask for the Rams to tear it up. Pushing too hard for an adjustment can unsettle the vibe that comes with joining a contender—and it can cost the fresh SoCal goodwill that comes with the move.

Still, the contract can’t be ignored. Garrett is 30, he’s signed for five more years, and he likely has one more bite at the apple. The sooner he takes it, the more likely he is to become once again the highest-paid non-quarterback in the league.

Myles Garrett Los Angeles Rams contract 2026 salary Micah Parsons Will Anderson Jr. Nicole Lynn Les Snead trade details NFL highest-paid non-quarterback