Los Angeles Rams make Cooper Kupp one of NFL's highest-paid WRs with 3-year extension

All-Pro wide receiver Cooper Kupp received a well-deserved raise from the Los Angeles Rams coming off one of the greatest seasons for a wide receiver in NFL history.

The Rams are signing Kupp to a three-year, $80.5 million extension that will pay him $110 million over the next five seasons, according to The Athletic’s Jourdan Rodrigue. The extension places him among the NFL’s highest-paid wide receivers on a per-year basis.

Los Angeles has now signed Kupp and star interior defender Aaron Donald to top-of-market contracts within the past 48 hours, once again pushing all in on another run to the Super Bowl. They become the first team in the NFL to sign two non-quarterbacks to deals averaging over $25 million per year.

Kupp had two years remaining on his three-year, $47.25 million extension signed in 2020 with $29.5 million in cash owed over the 2022-23 seasons, but he earned a new deal after his 2021 production vastly exceeded his current contract.

Kupp earned the “Triple Crown” in 2021 with a league-best 145 receptions, 1,945 receiving yards and 16 receiving touchdowns. He’s the first player to accomplish the feat since 2005 when Steve Smith Sr. led all three categories with the Carolina Panthers. Smith had to wait a year after his Triple Crown campaign before signing a sizable extension in 2007, but Kupp was able to re-up immediately.

This all comes after Kupp tore his ACL in 2018, with him bouncing back to the tune of three straight seasons of at least 90 receptions and 900 receiving yards to go along with 89 explosive receptions of fifteen-plus yards over the span — the most of any wide receiver. Kupp’s 92.6 receiving grade in 2021 trailed only Davante Adams (92.7), and it was the best mark of his career.

The Cincinnati Bengals’ secondary blanketed Kupp for stretches during Super Bowl LVI, especially after Odell Beckham Jr. tore his ACL with four minutes remaining in the first half. However, he could not be denied in crunch time, racking up four receptions for 39 yards and a touchdown in the fourth quarter alone.

The Super Bowl highlight fans will remember for years to come found Kupp on the receiving end of a beautiful no-look pass from quarterback Matthew Stafford on the game-winning drive, as the Rams marched down the field to win the Lombardi Trophy.

The total value of Kupp’s deal is now five years, $110 million with $75 million guaranteed. The $26.833 million new money average per year stacks up favorably with the top deals at the wide receiver position:

Kupp is now the eighth wide receiver this offseason alone to sign a multi-year deal averaging $20 million or more annually, a true explosion of a position market like we haven’t seen in some time.