The divorce between the Miami Dolphins and All-Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey appears imminent, with the veteran looking for a move away from the team he was traded to in 2023. The delay is being caused by complications with his contract, which is currently putting a $49 million dent in the Dolphins’ salary cap for the 2025 season.
Multiple teams are expected to be interested in a trade for Jalen Ramsey, who will turn 31 in October of the upcoming season. While the Miami Dolphins have been vocal about their willingness to trade him, they don’t want to get left with the bill. Here’s a look at the cost analysis of a trade and how it might get done.
Jalen Ramsey trade details, financial implications
The Miami Dolphins signed Jalen Ramsey to a three-year $72.5 million extension in 2024, after trading a third-round pick and tight end Hunter Long for him a year earlier.
Now, just one year into that three-year deal, he is considered one of the most likely stars in the league to be traded. It was reported that the two sides had mutually agreed a trade was in their best interest, and little else has been said about the way in which the decision came about.
Now that it’s public, teams have reportedly called, but the sticking point is the amount of money Ramsey is owed by Miami. The absence of any official deal so far is likely because willing trade partners might be keen on the player, but don’t want to absorb all of the money.
Jalen Ramsey is due $25.1 million fully guaranteed this season, and the Dolphins want the team he’s being traded to to take that money on. The Miami Dolphins had loaded the majority of the cost of the three-year deal into the final two seasons, which is now causing a problem as they try to shop the cornerback.
The number one candidate is his former team, the LA Rams, who appear to want Jalen Ramsey back in an attempt to win another Super Bowl in 2025.
NFL Insider John Frascella tweeted to say that Les Snead and Sean McVay were making a significant push as the Rams are in win-now mode.
There was a point during the offseason when it felt like the Rams were ready to blow it all up and start again, as quarterback Matthew Stafford explored his options away from the team.
Snead and company then worked out a new contract for the veteran quarterback, signing a two-year, $84 million deal to remain with the team through 2026.
With the addition of Davante Adams replacing Cooper Kupp in the offense, the Rams feel they’ve got a shot to win it all again while Stafford is still around.
On the Rich Eisen show, Snead talked about maximizing the remaining years of Stafford’s career before they worry about what happens next.
If the Rams and Dolphins can agree on how they’re going to split Jalen Ramsey’s contract, the deal could get done sooner rather than later. As it stands right now, LA would need to agree to soaking up at least some of the cap hit.
The Rams’ available trade capital
When the Rams traded Jalen Ramsey to Miami, he was two years younger, but he was halfway through a five-year, $100 million contract he signed in LA in 2020. Miami then restructured that deal when he arrived, with a new three-year $55 million deal running through 2025.
His new deal was signed a year later, and that’s the contract causing the concern with a trade.
The LA Rams have two first-round picks in the 2026 NFL draft, and many believe they are gearing up to select their future franchise quarterback. They traded out of the first round of the 2025 NFL draft with the Atlanta Falcons, who came up to get defensive end James Pearce Jr.
Les Snead and the Rams then have a second-round pick, a third-round pick, a fifth-round pick, three sixth-round picks, and a seventh-round pick in the 2026 draft.
The Miami Dolphins will likely want at least a third if they’re going to move him, and his exit will leave a significant void at the cornerback position