Myles Garrett will be getting less money with the Los Angeles Rams, at least in a certain sense.
Garrett took a technical pay cut to join the Rams, notes Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. California’s state income tax is roughly 10 percent higher than Ohio’s, meaning Garrett is losing out on that much of his contractual income compared to what he would get had he remained with the Cleveland Browns.
Notably, Garrett did not ask the Rams to adjust his contract to compensate for the potential losses, suggesting he is comfortable with this outcome. His base salary for 2026 was increased, but the overall value of the contract itself did not change.
Garrett had already forfeited some of his Browns income, though not nearly as much as he will lose here. It certainly suggests that the value of playing for a contender is worth more to Garrett than the sum of lost income.
The Rams acquired Garrett last week in a blockbuster trade with the Browns. He still has three more years to play on the 4-year, $160 million deal he signed with Cleveland a year ago.
