Todd Gurley and Clay Matthews each spoke out publicly Wednesday on Twitter about allegedly not being paid by the Rams.
The running back got things started by tweeting directly at the team, saying they were "past due."
@RamsNFL past due. Send me money ASAP
— Todd Gurley II (@TG3II) April 8, 2020
Matthews then quote tweeted Gurley in agreement, saying he was also not paid.
You and me both TG! 😤 Better get some interest with that too 📈 https://t.co/E8RIOhg7sH
— Clay Matthews III (@ClayMatthews52) April 9, 2020
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Both players were released by the Rams on March 19. The Rams' decision to release Gurley came before the team was required to pay him $10.5 million in bonuses. However, Spotrac's contract page for Gurley says he was owed a $7.55 million roster bonus that was set to be guaranteed on March 15, when Gurley was still on the roster. However, $2.5 million of that $7.55M is subject to offsets so he'll be owed more like $5 million after signing with the Falcons.
As for Matthews, he's owed $2 million. But his contract language provides the Rams with security, much like Gurley. If he signs a $1 million contract with another team, he'll be owed $1 million by the Rams. But if he signs for $2 million, then the Rams don't owe him anything.
In both cases, the Rams could pay Gurley and Matthews and then get that money back from their respective teams. But it doesn't appear as if the team will be doing that.
The Rams declined to comment. But a person with knowledge of the situation said the Rams were abiding by language that is standard in all of the team’s contracts.
The latest the Rams were supposed to pay each player was March 30, 2020, per ProFootballTalk. Another aspect making this deal complicated is the fact Gurley still hasn't officially signed with the Falcons yet. The two have agreed to terms, and he shows up on the team's roster, but ESPN's Adam Schefter reported just a few days ago Gurley "still has taken nor passed his physical."
