When the Rams ultimately stood pat and drafted Steve Avila with the 36th pick in 2023, it surprisingly made him L.A.’s highest draft selection since Jared Goff going first overall in 2016. That bookmarked Avila as a very important player in the Rams system.
Is he worth over $20 million per season to keep after next season?
Avila will be a free agent in 2027 and is extension eligible for the first time in 2026. The Rams could hold their ground and just find out how good Avila is next year or they could attempt to lock him down now in case Les Snead feels that the contract is inevitable—in which case he knows that the longer he waits, the more expensive that Avila becomes.
As the left guard market currently stands, these are the highest paid players:
- Tyler Smith, Cowboys ($24m per year)
- Luke Goedeke, Bucs ($22.5m)
- Landon Dickerson, Eagles ($21m)
- Quenton Nelson, Colts ($20m)
- Aaron Banks, Packers ($19.25m)
When you think of Avila, maybe you don’t think of “All-Pro” or “top-5”. Some would say he’s not even the best guard on the Rams compared to Kevin Dotson.
But sometimes it’s better to be younger than better: Avila is three years younger than Dotson. Should the Rams hold onto Avila over Dotson, if they had to choose? Dotson is also a 2027 free agent.
I also don’t know how many of you would have guessed that Goedeke makes more than Nelson or that Banks is in the top-5 for salary at left guard.
So if they can do it, surely so can Avila.
Although he missed two games in 2025 and seven games in 2024, Avila has otherwise been a consistent presence on the offensive line and could still play either guard or center. He has also been available for all six playoff games as the Rams have made the playoffs in all three seasons of his career.
What an Avila extension might look like
If worked out this offseason, the Rams might need to pay a lot of money for a pact with Avila.
As noted, those other five guards all signed four year contracts worth between $77 and $96 million total.
An extension for Avila might end up being around a four-year, $90 million contract. Why so much? Well, all Steve Avila has to do is look towards Banks for inspiration. Not anything close to an elite player for the 49ers over his rookie contract, Banks hit the free agent market in 2025 and found that there are a lot of teams desperate for starters at guard.
If Avila bets on himself, he could definitely find a team hungry for a guard/center who they know can start and be good and he doesn’t have any serious injuries to be worried about. So Avila doesn’t need to convince the Rams that he’s worth $90 million, he only needs to convince them that another team thinks he’s worth $90 million.
That’s $22.5 million per season, same as Goedeke, another guard who has proven (he has also missed a few games most seasons of his career) that as long as you’re a starter who is usually available, you don’t have to be “top-5” to get “top-5 money”.
Should the Rams prioritize Avila in the offseason or does Dotson come first? Let us know what you think.
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