Matthew Stafford is an out-and-out family man. He’s someone who spends all his time with his kids and wife in the offseason, or whenever he has the time to do so. But now that NFL training camp is starting up again, Daddy has to go back to work. And his wife, Kelly, says that his absence will have an effect on her and the daughters.
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It’s not just Matthew, though. When the season begins, NFL players barely get to spend time with their families. Patrick Mahomes is a great example. Last season, he could barely make time for his third child’s birth because he was prepping for the Super Bowl. This sport is a demanding job that forces players to keep their work in the back of their minds, no matter the circumstances.
When Kelly spoke about what life has been like in the Stafford household during the first week without Matthew, she was candid about her feelings.
“This is my first week without Matthew… my mornings just got a little tougher,” Kelly said on her podcast The Morning After.
“Obviously, this is reality for the next however many months. You know, that hits harder when I feel like your kids get a little older and they’re like, ‘Yo, where’s dad?’ And I’m like, first off, don’t ‘yo’ me. I am your mother, use your manners,” she jokingly added.
The Staffords’ oldest two daughters are now both 7, while the other two are 6 and 4. The eldest are starting to gain increased emotional control and a growing awareness of social dynamics and relationships. It must be confusing to them why their dad is suddenly leaving the house for work after a full offseason of him being around all of the time. There aren’t a lot of jobs with a schedule like that.
Kelly then revealed that without Matthew at home, the Stafford household has felt a bit out of place. “But we don’t have that calming, protective person in the house right now. So, the emotions are high.”
It must be a tough time for Kelly to go through. By the end of last season, the kids were missing Dad so much that even in sickness, all they could think about was him. And whether the LA Rams were winning.
That’s right, while in Arizona playing against the Minnesota Vikings in the playoffs, one of Stafford’s daughters was battling an illness. However, amid the vomiting, Kelly revealed something heartwarming about the incident.
“This girl,” Kelly wrote on Instagram along with a heart emoji. “In the middle of her pukes in the bathroom, ‘Mommy, are we still winning?’ She couldn’t wait to be in his arms.”
By the end of the game, Matthew piloted the Rams to victory and got to hold his daughter in his arms. It was a storybook ending to a tough trip for Kelly and her daughters.
One has to wonder if the temptation to walk away from the NFL and be with his family is an idea that Matthew thinks about often. After all, he is 37, and his skills have been declining.
But with a contract signed through 2026, we have to believe that he will most likely see it through, as he continues to kick the retirement can down the road.
