The Matthew Stafford era with the Los Angeles Rams seemed like it was dangling on a knife’s edge just a couple of weeks ago. News of an impromptu ski trip or sit down between Stafford and Las Vegas Raiders minority owner Tom Brady really got the hot take merchants going. However, as most assumed, there was far less to that than met the eye.
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In reality, it was all chance. The pair simply ran into each other at a ski resort in Montana. Not exactly surprising to see the two running in similar circles. And in the end, despite the Rams giving Stafford’s agent permission to conduct exploratory talks with the Raiders and New York Giants, the two sides came to an agreement. The team and player confirmed that they had signed a restructured deal to keep Stafford in L.A.
The details of the pact have not been released. One would assume that it adds more guaranteed dollars for Stafford, as that was his main reservation about the previous agreement. Now that the contract is done and dusted, Rams head coach Sean McVay was even able to joke around about the ski resort incident during an appearance on Pardon My Take.
“The Yellowstone—I’m kind of upset I wasn’t there, you know, for the ski trip. That’s a who’s who over there. (Laughs)”
After getting his little jokes off, McVay revealed what most sensible football people already assumed: the end goal for the Rams was never to trade Matthew Stafford, it was to bring him back to L.A. for 2025.
“That was always the end goal in mind, trying to figure out hey how do we get this guy back… The biggest thing to me was that was always what we wanted. Matthew knew that. I’m so glad that it ended up where it did. But the most important thing is, when you’re making these commitments—and he’s such a central part of where we wanna go, and he’s got such a positive influence on his teammates—him feeling good about it, and [his wife] Kelly feeling good about it.”
McVay said that he believes he, the organization, and Stafford are “closer” than ever thanks to those contract negotiations. It was a way for both sides to be straight up and say, “hey, here’s where we’re at,” which allowed them to come together in the end.
“It became so public where, you’re at the gym, and the music’s going but you have one of these stations on and that’s all they’re talking about. They’re showing all these highlights and stuff and I’m thinking, ‘Man, I’d be a real dumbass if we let this guy go.'”
When Matthew Stafford first joined the Rams in 2021, he threw for nearly 5,000 yards and 41 TDs en route to a Super Bowl. However, 2022 and 2023 were both rough seasons for him. In 2022, back issues held him back significantly, as he played just nine games. In 2023, he improved, leading L.A. back to the playoffs, where he played great in a heartbreaking loss to the Detroit Lions.
However, 2024 was by far the best year since that Super Bowl-winning campaign for the veteran passer. He completed passes at a higher rate, threw interceptions at a lower clip, and put up a higher passer rating in 2024 than he did in 2023. Not to mention he also led them to an upset playoff victory over the 15-win Minnesota Vikings. Stafford may be 37, but it seems he’s still got more left to give if that back holds up.
The Rams are in a similar situation. They’re kind of rebuilding on the run, and they’ve done a great job so far. They’ve already got a few young studs on defense alongside the obvious talent of Puka Nacua and Kyren Williams on offense.
They have the 26th overall pick at the 2025 NFL Draft. Though they don’t have their second-rounder, they have six picks between the third and sixth rounds. That’s a decent cache of draft capital. But, more impressive is how much cap space they currently boast despite the amount of veteran talent they have. They enter the 2025 offseason with over $55 million to spend, 10th-most in the league.
