In the NFL, no deal is ever done until it’s done. Now that quarterback Matthew Stafford’s new deal with the Rams is officially done, the two-year deal will once again tee up the question, after the next season, of whether the Rams and Stafford are done.
He ends up with $44 million this year, with no guarantees beyond 2025 — for injury or otherwise. The Rams will have until the fifth day of the next league year in March, when his 2026 salary of $40 million becomes fully guaranteed, to cut him. The Rams also will have the ability to trade Stafford, since they’ll hold his contractual rights through 2026.
We don’t, and won’t, know whether the Rams have informally agreed to grant Stafford his outright release, if he decides he wants to finish his career elsewhere. If a new team can sign him without giving the Rams a draft pick or two, that’s more money they’ll be willing to pay Stafford next year.
He could have gotten a firm $90 million (or more) on a two-year deal with the Raiders or Giants. But Stafford seems to be content to go one year at a time with the Rams, confident that another team (if not the Rams) will pay him fairly in 2026.
It’s a good deal for the Rams. At $42 million per year on his new contract, Stafford currently ranks 15th in the NFL. And he’s still better than the 15th best quarterback.
And Stafford, unlike plenty of starting quarterbacks, is willing to play in the current year with no financial security beyond it.
