What a difference a year makes. Matthew Stafford’s future with the Los Angeles Rams was uncertain because of his dissatisfaction with his contract this time a year ago. The Rams gave Stafford’s agent, CAA Football’s Jimmy Sexton, permission to talk to other NFL teams to gauge the quarterback’s market value, opening the door for a potential trade because the parties hadn’t seen eye to eye about his contract in quite some time.
Stafford put retirement rumors to rest at the NFL Honors on Feb. 5. He confirmed his return to the Rams during his acceptance speech for NFL MVP.
Stafford was reportedly looking for at least $50 million per year in a renegotiated contract last year. The Las Vegas Raiders and the New York Giants were among the teams most interested in trading for Stafford.Â
Cooler heads prevailed at the end of February as Stafford reached an agreement for less money than the Giants and Raiders were offering to stay in Los Angeles. The final two years of the four-year, $160 million contract extension Stafford signed in 2022, which had $58 million remaining, were renegotiated into a two-year, $84 million deal.
Stafford’s 2025 salary went from $27 million to $44 million. The net 2025 increase was $12 million because $5 million of the original 2025 compensation in the 2022 extension was moved up to his 2024 contract year to placate an unhappy Stafford in July 2024 as the start of training camp was approaching.
The Rams used one of the more unique structures with Stafford’s contract. There were four different options each to pick up a dummy/voiding year starting in 2027 running through 2030 where each required a $6 million payment for option bonuses totaling $24 million.
Stafford is scheduled to make an unsecured $40 million on a $48,266,668 salary cap number in 2026. The $40 million becomes fully guaranteed March 15 on the fifth day of the 2026 league year. It was an unsecured $31 million prior to the 2025 renegotiation.
The same concept as in 2025 is being used with Stafford’s final real contract year. There are four more $6 million payments to exercise options for four dummy/voiding contract years from 2031 through 2034. The $40 million consists of a $16 million base salary and $24 million in option bonuses.
The expectation is Stafford will be seeking another adjustment to his contract. The Rams may want to focus just on 2026 since Stafford is a year-to-year proposition at this stage of his career as a 38-year-old.Â
Stafford’s public declaration of his intentions wasn’t necessary the best move for his negotiating leverage. He is coming off a career year though. Stafford led the NFL with 4,707 passing yards and 46 touchdown passes. It’s the first time Stafford has led the league in either of these categories during his 17-year NFL career. Stafford’s career-best 109.2 passer rating ranked second in the league.
There are 11 quarterbacks scheduled to make more in 2026 than Stafford’s $40 million. Six of the 11 are making over $50 million. Patrick Mahomes leads the way in 2026 compensation with $56.75 million. Josh Allen, Jared Goff and Tua Tagovailoa are next with $55 million apiece. Lamar Jackson and Jalen Hurts are making $52 million and $51.5 million, respectively.
Green Bay Packers edge rusher Micah Parsons is the NFL’s highest-paid non-quarterback at $46.5 million per year. More than $9 million would need to be added to Stafford’s 2026 compensation for his average since the renegotiation to top Parsons’ $46.5 million per year. For example, an additional $10 million would raise Stafford’s 2026 pay to $50 million and the two-year average to $47 million per year.
Another approach could be a one-year contract extension in case Stafford wants to continue playing beyond next season. It would eliminate some potential headaches for the Rams since 2026 is Stafford’s contract year. Given the way the 120% of prior year’s salary provisions operate for franchise tags, it would cost the Rams $57.92 million to use the designation on Stafford in 2027 if he played the 2026 season under his existing contract.Â
The $97.92 million Stafford would make over the next two years with the Rams going this route could be used as a general framework for a contract running through the 2027 season. For instance, if Stafford’s 2026 compensation is increased to $50 million as in the other example where there is $50 million in 2027, he would essentially have a one-year extension for $60 million given his current $40 million for 2026.Â
The $60 million of new money for the one new contract year would put Stafford in a tie with Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott as the NFL’s highest-paid player. The four-year, $240 million extension Prescott signed in 2024 averages $60 million per year.
Obviously, Stafford’s fake 2027 contract year would become a real contract year in the process. The voiding date for the fake 2028 through 2034 contract years would need to be pushed back one year from the 23rd day preceding the first day of the 2027 league year to the 23rd day preceding the first day of the 2028 league year. The $50 million in 2027 could be unsecured, just like Stafford’s 2026 money was when he signed his renegotiated contract last year. For the sake of consistency, the guarantee date could be the fifth day of the 2027 league year (mid-March 2027).
It remains to be seen how Stafford and the Rams will handle his contract situation. Maybe, Stafford will defy conventional wisdom by being content with last year’s renegotiation. That would be the ideal scenario for the Rams. Nobody has ever made more from NFL player contracts than the $408 million Stafford has over the course of his career.
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