Rams found winning formula, can they keep it?

SoFi Stadium in sunny Calif. will forever be home to one of the more memorable Super Bowls in history.

It’s been a little over a week since the Rams defeated the Bengals to become the 2022 Super Bowl champions.

Since that time, many questions have arisen, most importantly those concerning the futures of star defensive tackle Aaron Donald and head coach Sean McVay.

In interviews leading up to the heavily anticipated game, Donald indicated that if the Rams won, he would seriously consider retirement.

This led to numerous reports of him wanting to walk away a champion after finishing a legendary career with a Super Bowl victory. Losing the three-time Defensive Player of the Year, eight-time Pro Bowler (with only eight season in the league), and seven-time first-team All-Pro would leave a gaping hole on this Ram’s roster.

However, the 30-year-old stud defensive tackle is likely using this situation as leverage for a new contract. Set to make $19 million in 2023 and 2024, Donald ranks just behind other premium defensive linemen such as T.J. Watt and Joey Bosa. Donald is older than these top paid defensive linemen but is still considered the best defensive player in all of football. Donald likely wants to secure another bag that will keep him handsomely paid well into his 30s.

Question marks around Sean McVay’s future are much more concerning. McVay was the youngest head coach hire in NFL history at age 30 back in 2017.

The now 36-year-old is still the youngest head coach in the league and has a Super Bowl ring to show for his years of hard work.

McVay has been regarded as a football genius and is able to recall specific plays from any given date in his coaching career.

That type of football IQ is exactly what networks would like out of their new broadcaster. Stepping away from coaching after reaching the pinnacle of success may seem like a strange career path, yet McVay’s age allows him to step into the booth for some time, then come back to coaching if he is compelled to do so.

McVay could be in the booth for a decade or two and still come back to coaching at the age of 56. Additionally, broadcast networks offering to double his $8 million salary also comes into play. This salary would surpass the current highest-paid coach, Bill Belichick. Another iron in the fire is Amazon taking over Thursday Night Football this upcoming season. This acquisition has set a broadcaster carousel in motion which could easily open a spot for McVay.

There were many surprises that shocked the world in Super Bowl LVI. From Odell Beckham Jr. tearing his ACL early to 50 Cent hanging upside down in the halftime show, Super Bowl LVI will be remembered as an entertaining game that resulted in the better team winning.

The LA Rams went all in, and it paid off.

The ambition and aggressive moves to get stars such as Von Miller, OBJ, Jalen Ramsey and Matthew Stafford paid off. This is a copycat league, so it will be interesting if other franchises adopt this risky all in approach in the future. While there is severe speculation revolving around the future of the franchise, none of it matters because banners fly forever.