Before the 2011 Collective Bargaining Agreement created a rookie wage scale with slotted contracts based on selection position, the first overall pick would often sign a contract before the draft even began.
Fast forward to 2026. Seven weeks and one day after round one happened, 30 of 32 players have signed contracts. The two unsigned first-round picks are the two quarterbacks: Fernando Mendoza (taken first overall) and Ty Simpson (13th).
There isn’t much to negotiate in these contracts. The biggest issues are cash flow (specifically, when will the full amount of the signing bonus be paid?), the mechanism for voiding guarantees, and whether the guarantees will have offset language.
It’s unclear why Mendoza and Simpson haven’t signed. Both could have forced the issue by refusing to participate in the offseason program until they had their contracts. (All draft picks should take that position, frankly.)
Both will likely sign before training camp opens. Holdouts have become rare. Still, no deal is done until it’s done. And it’s a bit glaring that all first-round picks have done their deals except for the two first-round quarterbacks.
Rams Clips
The United States makes its 2026 World Cup debut on Friday, at the stadium formerly known as “SoFi” (the name has been redacted, per FIFA demands). Tickets remain available to watch the U.S. and Paraguay play in person at 9:00 p.m. ET, 6:00 p.m. PT.
Via Joe Lago of Sports Business Journal, FIFA has roughly 350 tickets left in its primary inventory. Another 2,500 or so are available on the secondary market.
As of Friday morning, the cheapest price for a ticket was $1,129.
The matches at SoFi will be played on lush, high-quality grass that Rams owner Stan Kroenke installed at the behest of FIFA. By February, when SoFi Stadium hosts Super Bowl LXI, the grass will be long gone and the fake stuff will have returned in all of its artificial glory.
Kroenke also had to, as mentioned above, remove the sponsored name of the venue for the duration of the World Cup, reconfigure the lower areas of the stadium, and forgo other events that would have generated significant revenue for the duration of FIFA’s SoFi takeover.
As Devin McCourty said earlier this week on PFT Live, and as the NFLPA Twitter account amplified on Thursday, it’s “disrespectful” to NFL players for NFL owners to install high-quality grass for soccer and insist on using artificial turf for football.
Said the NFLPA in another post, “If these extensive field changes are worth the cost for a month-long tournament, why aren’t they worth the cost for the NFL players who primarily compete in these stadiums?”
The bottom line is that grass fields, in the view of owners who choose turf, have too much of an impact on the bottom line. Now that it’s a collective bargaining issue, it will change only if the NFLPA makes a concession that matches the overall cost of converting all stadiums to grass.
Still, there’s value in pushing it. The NFL does a good job of locking arms during CBA talks. What better way to drive a wedge among the oligarchs than to insist on a term that, for the teams already playing on grass, will be viewed as no big deal?
Dr. Neal ElAttrache, a prominent sports doctor who serves as the Rams’ physician, faces scrutiny over his support of the use of PEDs by UFC fighter Conor McGregor.
Via Michael Schmidt of the New York Times, Major League Baseball investigators will question ElAttrache about the situation, given that he also serves as the Dodgers’ team physician.
The goal is to understand why ElAttrache supported McGregor’s decision to use PEDs, and to determine whether ElAttrache supported the use of PEDs by baseball players. For now, the MLB is unaware of any claim that ElAttrache engaged in such behavior as to baseball players.
The NFL did not respond to an email from the Times seeking comment on whether it will be interviewing ElAttrache.
The defending Super Bowl champions aren’t the betting favorites to repeat — either as NFL champions or as division winners. That distinction has gone to the Rams.
“I think I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t a little extra motivation from hearing that type of stuff,” Seahawks defensive lineman Leonard Williams told reporters on Thursday. “There’s extra chips on our shoulder. We just came off of a Super Bowl winning season. People are still giving other people favorites over us. But at the same time, like I said, it’s always about us, it’s about our process. I think that is still adding fuel to the fire for guys. At the same time we’re going to stick to our process regardless of what other people outside may think.”
Currently, the Rams are +100 favorites to win the NFC West. The Seahawks’ odds are +205.
The Rams are also favored to win the Super Bowl, at +550. The Bills and Ravens have +1000 odds, with the Seahawks at +1100.
That’s a good development for the Seahawks. It avoids complacency, and it gives the Seahawks a useful kick in the butt as they try to climb the mountain for a second straight season.
Former NFL wide receiver Lance Rentzel died Sunday in Virginia, Kevin Sherrington of the Dallas Morning News reports. Rentzel was 82.
Rentzel was a star at Oklahoma, earning first-team All-Big Eight honors and playing in the Senior Bowl and College All-Star Game after his senior season. The Vikings selected Rentzel in the second round of the 1965 NFL draft, and the Bills took him in the sixth round of the 1965 AFL draft. He signed with Minnesota, where he played two seasons.
After his second season, Rentzel exposed himself to two young girls on a St. Paul, Minnesota, playground. He pleaded guilty but served no jail time with the charges reduced to disorderly conduct after he promised to seek psychiatric treatment. The Cowboys traded him to the Rams in a three-team deal.
The Vikings traded him to the Cowboys for a third-round pick in the 1967 offseason.
Rentzel wrote in his biography, When All the Laughter Died in Sorrow, that he battled mental illness.
He was arrested again in November 1970 after exposing himself to a 10-year-old girl in Dallas. Rentzel pleaded guilty in 1971 and was sentenced to five years of probation and mandatory psychiatric care with no jail time. The Cowboys traded him to the Rams.
Rentzel played two seasons in Los Angeles before police raided his home and arrested him for possession of marijuana. He pleaded guilty, and because he was already on probation with the NFL, Commissioner Pete Rozelle suspended Rentzel for the 1973 season.
Rentzel returned in 1974 in what was his final season before retirement.
He played 115 games over nine seasons and totaled 268 receptions for 4,826 yards and 38 touchdowns and also contributed 26 rushes for 196 yards and two touchdowns.
Rentzel was married to and divorced from entertainer Joey Heatherton.
He is survived by brothers Del Rentzel and Chris Rentzel of Dallas, and a daughter, Jenny.
“To all who knew him,” his obit reads, via Sherrington, “Lance was larger than life – hilariously funny, unfailingly optimistic and happy, warm in spirit, and deeply loyal. He formed many close relationships over the years, most notably the enduring bonds that he shared with his teammates.”
The Rams will be wrapping up their offseason program a little earlier than expected.
Head coach Sean McVay told the team’s players, via multiple reporters, on Thursday that he has canceled the mandatory minicamp that was scheduled for next week. The team was slated to work on Monday and Tuesday before McVay announced the change in plans.
While the team will not be holding the minicamp, McVay said that Monday will still be the final day of the program.
Once the Rams do report for training camp, eyes will be on how Myles Garrett is settling into his new team. The Rams traded for Garrett this month and the hope is that his presence can help the team make it to another Super Bowl at SoFi Stadium.
More details are emerging as to the recent criminal allegations against Rams tackle Alaric Jackson.
Via TMZ, the alleged victim reminded Jackson she is pregnant during the altercation. He allegedly responded by saying, “I don’t give a fuck.”
In a request for a temporary restraining order, the alleged victim claims that the altercation left her with “scratches” and “bruises.”
“He took my phone during the attempt I fought to hold on I bit him trying to keep possession of phone,” she claims in the application for a TRO. “He took it and my headphones, broke them & threw my phone. At which point I started to record the erratic behavior at which point he flipped my food over.”
She also alleges this: “When he came back in from taking things to the car he became upset I was recording, he struggled w/me for my phone I told . . . him to be careful because I’m pregnant, he said “I don’t give a fuck.’ I got bruises, scratches and cuts in the scuffle. He took my keys & phone and threw them over our city view yard.”
The alleged victim contends that Jackson “took all of my belongings & threw them in dumpster, took my passport, changed locks and made verbal threats of bodily harm.”
Jackson was arrested for felony battery on Monday night.
Jackson faces separate scrutiny under the Personal Conduct Policy. The baseline suspension for domestic violence is six games. Pregnancy of the alleged victim is an aggravating factor. Jackson’s past violation also could lengthen the punishment.
In 2024, the NFL suspended Jackson two games, based on a claim from that Jackson recorded a woman during sex without consent, refused to delete the video, and taunted her with it. She sued Jackson over the situation in November.
When Mike LaFleur departed the Rams to become the Cardinals’ head coach earlier this offseason, there was an obvious internal replacement for his vacated position.
Nate Scheelhaase had spent the last two seasons on Los Angeles’ coaching staff, first as an offensive assistant and passing game specialist in 2024. He was promoted to pass game coordinator in 2025 and has now been promoted to offensive coordinator in 2026.
It wasn’t always clear that Scheelhaase would even be back with the Rams for this season, as he was in the mix for head coaching opportunities. But he said this week that he’s grateful to stick with the Rams while still pushing his career forward.
“It’s rare to be able to move up in the profession as far as responsibilities go and do that in one place,” Scheelhaase said Monday, via Stu Jackson of the team’s website. “So, to continue to learn alongside Sean [McVay], alongside the staff, and to continue to work with these players. It was cool and again, the transition as far as getting our players back and what that then looks like. It’s a lot of the same as adding value to what we’re trying to do every day, trying to help in any way possible. Certainly, roles and responsibilities look a little bit different, but same mentality.”
While he’s doing a different job, Scheelhaase is taking the same approach to being the club’s offensive coordinator that he’s brought to the rest of his career.
“I think having that nose down, go to work mentality and finding a way to make an impact has always been a calling card of mine,” Scheelhaase said. “I’ve learned that from the people that I’ve been around. Spending six years with [former head coach] Matt Campbell at Iowa State was largely impactful to who I am as a coach. Obviously, the last two years here with Sean being able to learn what it looks like at this level, to be able to do it with that sustained excellence over a number of years, that’s been huge as well. Those two have been impactful.
“Relationships and hard work, those are my calling cards of what I got and being able to do it in a place like this, you feel like you get to lead out of your true self in that way.”
Rams coach Sean McVay is liking what he’s seeing at Organized Team Activities, but he’s tempering his enthusiasm with a reminder that what he’s seeing is not actually football.
Asked for his assessment, McVay said that OTAs, which are non-contact practices, can only tell a coach so much.
“I’ve seen steady improvement, but this isn’t real football until we put the pads on,” McVay said. “But I’ve been pleased with a lot of the things before the ball is snapped, the operation, the communication, getting our cleats in the ground, getting aligned in some of the appropriate formations, so it’s been positive. Guys are working, and the other thing is learning how to practice while minimizing the risk of injury. How to be able to protect each other but positively push one another. I like the vibe of this group, but there’s so much work to be done.”
The Rams are the favorites to win the Super Bowl after adding reigning Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett to an already strong roster. But we won’t find out whether they’re for real until they’re playing real football. And that doesn’t happen in June.
When the U.S. faces Paraguay on Friday, attendees will have no issues when it comes to buying a beer or a hot dog.
Via the Associated Press, the union representing roughly 2,000 SoFi Stadium workers announced Tuesday that a deal has been struck to avoid a strike during the World Cup.
Union members, who recently voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike, will vote Wednesday on the ratification of the agreement.
The agreement includes higher wages and protections against the subcontracting of union work.
SoFi Stadium will host eight of the matches in the upcoming international soccer tournament. The labor peace also will extend to Rams and Chargers’ home games.
