Four weeks after drafting quarterback Matthew Stafford’s potential eventual replacement, the Rams have reached a new deal with the latest NFL MVP.
The Rams have announced that Stafford and the team have signed an extension.
Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that the one-year extension has a base value of $55 million. It can be worth up to $60 million with incentives.
Stafford, 38, had been under contract for one more year, with a total compensation package of $40 million.
The Rams and Stafford have been operating on a year-to-year arrangement. It’s currently unclear whether the Rams have made a firm, two-year commitment. Even if the Rams can feasibly exit the deal after 2026, Stafford’s commitment keeps him from becoming a free agent after the upcoming season.
The structure will be the key. The amount of guarantees for 2027 will reveal whether the Rams are continuing to play it one year at a time, while also managing to keep Stafford from walking away, if he so chooses.
The first overall pick in 2009, Stafford has earned more than $400 million during his NFL career. He was traded by the Lions to the Rams in early 2021. In his first season in L.A., the Rams won the Super Bowl.
