Latest On Bobby Wagner’s Free Agency Decision

Bobby Wagner‘s Rams contract initially came in at five years and $50MM, but like most NFL deals, the actual numbers are more team-friendly. The deal is closer to a two-year, $17.5MM pact, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.

The Ravens came in with a better two-year offer, per Rapoport, who notes Baltimore sent Wagner a two-year, $18MM proposal (Twitter link). Baltimore stepped up for Wagner, with Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk (on Twitter) adding the $18MM offered was fully guaranteed. Incentives included in Wagner’s deal, and the future Hall of Fame linebacker’s desire to return home to Los Angeles, led to the Rams winning out. Wagner visited both the Rams and Ravens.

Los Angeles included $10MM fully guaranteed, with $3.5MM of that coming in 2023, Florio notes. Wagner will see that $3.5MM fully guaranteed Friday; the rest of his $11MM 2023 salary is nonguaranteed. Wagner being on the Rams’ roster by Day 5 of the 2023 league year will guarantee him a 2024 roster bonus worth $2.5MM, per Florio, who provides more clarity on the incentives that helped push Wagner to L.A. Wagner and the Rams appear to have agreed on names for said incentives, one of which can void the deal’s final three seasons.

The Agent Wagz Wally’s Wage Incentive can net the self-represented linebacker up to $2MM per year in incentives geared around playing time and achievements. The Wage Wagz’s Colony Coin Incentive (these are apparently very real) would pay out $1MM per year if Wagner is named a first-team All-Pro. Wagner’s six first-team All-Pro honors trail only Ray Lewis and Mike Singletary (seven apiece) among post-merger off-ball linebackers, but he did not earn such acclaim in 2021. The void incentive — officially the Agent Wagz Archibald Ranch Au Revoir Void — would allow Wagner to scrap the 2024-26 years if he plays 90% of the team’s defensive snaps and the Rams make the playoffs each year, Florio adds. With Wagner set to turn 34 during the 2024 season, which is the first of the contract’s three nonguaranteed years, the third incentive might not affect the Rams much.

Baltimore signed Marcus Williams to a five-year, $70MM deal and is looking for defensive line help. Wagner, 31, would have provided a boost on the Ravens’ defensive second level, but L.A. native will team with Ernest Jones with the Rams instead. Although Wagner expressed dissatisfaction with the Seahawks on the way out, he said it did not play into his decision to sign with an NFC West team.

“A lot of people think that it went into my decision, being able to play the Seahawks,” Wagner said, via the Associated Press’ Greg Beacham (on Twitter). “I don’t have that much hate in my heart. I really wanted to be happy, and I wanted to be close to home and stay on the West Coast. That was important to me. But playing the Seahawks twice a year was a cherry on top. I’ll make sure I’ll tell them. It won’t be a quiet game for me.”