Jimmy Garoppolo's contract is loaded with Rams incentives for absolutely no reason

The Los Angeles Rams are signing quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo to a one-year contract with a maximum value of $12 million. The contract has a base value of $4.5 million and $7.5 million in incentives, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.

Garoppolo will serve as the backup to quarterback Matthew Stafford, who has shown signs of aging in recent years. The 36-year-old Stafford has missed 10 games in the past two seasons while guiding the Rams to a 12-12 record in 24 starts.

Garoppolo said he had a few options in free agency, but talking to Rams coach Sean McVay "really sealed the deal" on his decision to sign with Los Angeles.

McVay has familiarity coaching against Garoppolo. The 32-year-old quarterback has an 8-0 record in the regular season against the Rams, although McVay defeated Garoppolo in the NFC Championship Game before Super Bowl LVI.

"Obviously good players all around," Garoppolo said. "That's a big part of it. Talking to Sean on the phone, him just running me through offense and things that he had in mind, it really became appetizing. And I know a lot of the coaches here, so a lot of familiarity in that aspect. And then having played against the Rams a lot in my career, I've seen a lot of good things from L.A."

Jimmy Garoppolo receives an incentive-based contract as Rams backup

Garoppolo's incentive-laden contract is the latest marker of his rapid descent. Just six years ago, he was the highest-paid player in NFL history with an average annual salary of $27.5 million. Last year, he signed a three-year, $72.7 million contract with the Las Vegas Raiders, but the move was disastrous right from the start. The contract had to be reworked after Garoppolo failed a physical and needed surgery for a foot injury. He suffered a concussion in Week 3 and started just six games before being benched after Week 8, when he led the league with nine interceptions.

In February, Garoppolo received a two-game suspension for violating the league's policy on performance-enhancing drugs. The suspension gave the Raiders an opportunity to void Garoppolo's guaranteed salary and release him with a $17.1 million dead money charge on their salary cap.

The violation was related to the quarterback using a prescribed medication without having a valid therapeutic use exemption from the league, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.

Garoppolo has had one of the most fascinating career arcs of any active quarterback. The New England Patriots selected Garoppolo in the second round of the 2014 NFL Draft as the likely successor to quarterback Tom Brady. Garoppolo served as a catalyst for Brady's rift with head coach Bill Belichick, and he likely provided Brady with nightmare fuel to reignite his competitive fire.

No longer the team's most handsome quarterback, Brady awoke from a decade-long championship slumber to win three Super Bowls and four AFC Championship Games in five seasons immediately after Garoppolo's arrival. Garoppolo was traded to the San Francisco 49ers, leaving Belichick to grieve the loss amid three consecutive Super Bowl appearances.

The Niners made several failed attempts to replace him. They accidentally succeeded when third-string quarterback Brock Purdy proved to be more than just an emergency starter in 2022.

Garoppolo will now hope to experience a late-career resurgence under the offensive brilliance of McVay. If he gets to play, he'll have his chance to get revenge on the 49ers in two games as a divisional rival.