Quarterback Matthew Stafford delighted fans of the Los Angeles Rams
when he confirmed on the same night he was officially revealed as the Most Valuable Player for the 2025 regular season that he’ll remain the club’s starter through at least the 2026 campaign.
Stafford is reportedly due to make roughly $40M on the final season of his existing deal. While speaking with reporters on Tuesday, Rams head coach Sean McVay was asked about Stafford’s short- and long-term futures.
What is the status of Matthew Stafford, Rams’ contract talks?
Per Adam Grosbard of the Los Angeles Daily News, McVay said that the Rams and Stafford’s camp have had “great dialogue” about a possible extension.
“We’ll work through all of those things,” McVay added.
Last offseason, Stafford was permitted to explore a trade that could have resulted in the Rams sending him to either the New York Giants or the Las Vegas Raiders. However, the 38-year-old ultimately took less money to stay with the Rams, and there is no indication he wants to play for any other team before he rides off into the sunset of retirement.
That said, it’s also unknown how much longer he wants to continue playing. Some have said that the Rams could grab Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Ty Simpson during the upcoming draft, but it’s unclear how Stafford may feel about such a plan.
What could Matthew Stafford’s contract extension look like?
Back in February, former agent and current CBS Sports NFL contracts and salary-cap expert Joel Corry suggested that the Rams could adjust Stafford’s contract so that the one-time Super Bowl champion would earn around $97.92M total for the 2026 and 2027 seasons. However, Stafford could request to receive at least $50M per year for the next two campaigns after he became a first-time MVP and guided the Rams back to the NFC Championship Game.
Unlike in previous offseasons, there’s no reason to believe the situation involving the Rams and Stafford will get messy. Nevertheless, one would think Rams general manager Les Snead would prefer to put Stafford-related matters behind him sooner rather than later so that Snead can focus on other personnel decisions.