Rams exercise fifth-year option for Jared Goff, a pick that’s paid off but will become costly

Last June, Rams players toured the site of the new Inglewood stadium, which is scheduled to open in time for the 2020 season.

As a photo opportunity, quarterback Jared Goff tossed a pass from ground level to a construction worker in the stands.

“Good to know that won’t be the only completion he has in the new stadium,” Kevin Demoff, the Rams’ chief operating officer, quipped Tuesday after the Rams announced they had exercised their fifth-year option on Goff.

The move was a foregone conclusion.

Goff, the No. 1 pick in the 2016 draft, has helped lead the Rams to consecutive NFC West titles and a Super Bowl. He is scheduled to carry a salary-cap number of $8.9 million this season, and he will earn about $22 million in 2020 if he and the Rams do not agree to an extension before then.

The Rams have extended players after three seasons, including running back Todd Gurley last year, but extensions for NFL quarterbacks are typically done after their fourth season.

Regardless, if Goff continues to play well he is in line for a massive deal.

The quarterback market has been escalating dramatically the last few years with players such as Derek Carr, Matthew Stafford, Matt Ryan, Kirk Cousins, Aaron Rodgers and Russell Wilson signing huge contracts.

“It seems like it’s kind of like buying a house in Los Angeles,” Demoff said. “You tell yourself that it’s way too expensive and you don’t ever buy it, and then you look in the same neighborhood a year later and the number you thought you would never pay seems like a good deal and you wish you had done it.

“And then someone builds a house for even more and you’re like, ‘That’s crazy, no one will ever buy that house.’ And sure enough the house goes on the first day with multiple offers. That’s the way the quarterback market has been.”

Rodgers, Wilson and Ryan are among those who will eventually have salary-cap numbers of more than $30 million.

“You look at the guys who are over $30 million, they have multiple Super Bowls and of that regard,” Demoff said. “That’s certainly, that’s where you hope a player like Jared can get to.”

So the Rams are thrilled to have Goff under control for at least two more seasons.

Three years ago, the Rams traded two No. 1 picks and other draft capital to the Tennessee Titans to move up 14 spots to the No. 1 pick to select Goff. The victories, the division titles and the NFC conference title he helped win made it worth it, general manager Les Snead said.

“We probably would have given an extra pick — don’t tell the Titans that — if we had known that was going to occur,” Snead joked during a news conference. “So, we definitely look forward to working with Jared and continue chasing and earning that type of success in the future.”

Coach Sean McVay said Goff was “the ultimate leader” and that he was looking forward to continuing to grow with the quarterback.

“This is a big-time deal to be able to know that we’re going to have him for that fifth year and many years to come after that,” McVay said.

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Etc.

The Rams announced the dates for their preseason games. They will play on the road against the Oakland Raiders on Saturday, Aug. 10, at 5 p.m. PDT; in Honolulu against the Dallas Cowboys on Saturday, Aug. 17, at 4 p.m.; against the Denver Broncos at the Coliseum on Saturday, Aug. 24, at 6 p.m., and on the road against the Houston Texans on Thursday, Aug. 29, at 5 p.m. … The general public can purchase seat licenses and tickets for the 2020 season at the new Inglewood stadium starting Wednesday.

gary.klein@latimes.com

Follow Gary Klein on Twitter @latimesklein