Eric Weddle signed a two-year deal with the Los Angeles Rams on Friday, returning home to Southern California. He’s thrilled to be playing for Sean McVay, who he called “one of the best coaches” in the NFL, and can’t wait to get started in L.A.
His contract is very reasonable at $5.25 million per year, but the details of the deal are even more interesting. No, not the guaranteed money or signing bonus or roster bonus, but the clauses that aren’t typically made public.
Weddle and his agent David Canter spoke to Albert Breer about the safety’s deal with Los Angeles, which includes some interesting clauses and figures.
It’s a tradition for the Rams to use palindromes for financial figures in players’ contracts. Canter wanted to keep up that tradition, so Weddle’s base salary in each of the next two years is $4,250,524 – the same forward and backward. The same goes for his roster bonus and guaranteed salary in 2019: $1,001,001 and $5,250,525, respectively.
The clauses in Weddle’s contracts also feature nods to his family and … ice cream.
Second, Canter wanted clauses named after family members. So the Chanel No. 13 and Chanel No. 14 clauses are incentives tied to playing time and playoff wins in 2019 and ’20. The Brooklyn, Gaige, Silver and Kamri Ice Cream Sunday clause (a tribute to his tradition of having ice cream after wins) is tied to playing time, making the Pro Bowl and playoff wins.
Weddle’s tradition is eating a big bowl of ice cream every Sunday after a win. Needless to say, that ritual will continue in Los Angeles and with the Rams expected to be one of the best teams in the league, Weddle should eat a lot of ice cream in 2019.
