Matthew Stafford was never going to leave the Rams, and it seems the Rams were aware of that all along.<\/p>\n
Typically, NFL players sign only two or three contracts in their career, but some, like Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, manage to secure a few more.<\/p>\n
NFL teams sign hundreds of players over the years. They know the markets, understand the precedents, and most importantly, they know their players.<\/p>\n
It now appears that Stafford was never truly leaving the Rams, and his meetings with the Raiders and Giants were likely a tactic to get the Rams to increase his pay for 2025. The Rams were probably aware of this.<\/p>\n
This could explain why the team allowed him to explore other options. If the Rams assessed that Stafford wasn\u2019t going to leave for a team with a weaker roster, why not let him have those talks? The Rams can appear generous and magnanimous. If you love something, set it free.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s easier to let it go when you know it won\u2019t actually leave.<\/p>\n
While we don\u2019t know the exact offers from the Raiders and Giants, it\u2019s believed both teams were offering a two-year, $100 million deal. Rams coach Sean McVay\u2019s comments on Monday made it clear that Stafford\u2019s deal is for just one year, with his future to be decided next year.<\/p>\n
\u201cLast year, it took about seven months,\u201d McVay told reporters. \u201cThis year, it took about three weeks. Maybe next year it\u2019ll be just two or three days if we have to do this again.\u201d<\/p>\n
Last year, Stafford didn\u2019t see much of an adjustment to his contract. This year, it\u2019s estimated the Rams were originally prepared to increase his pay from $27 million to around $36 million \u2014 and ultimately moved to $40 million after Stafford attracted interest from other teams.<\/p>\n
The Rams held firm at a much lower amount than Stafford could have earned elsewhere. There\u2019s a good chance they knew he\u2019d accept it.<\/p>\n
We\u2019ll update with the final numbers once they are confirmed. Although Stafford has played well enough to deserve a starting salary beginning with a 5, it\u2019s likely to be a 4.<\/p>\n
And it might end up being right at $40 million for one year, with the following year still to be determined.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Matthew Stafford was never going to leave the Rams, and it seems the Rams were aware of that all along. Typically, NFL players sign only two or three contracts in their career, but some, like Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, manage to secure a few more. NFL teams sign hundreds of players over the years. They […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":27417,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[378],"tags":[1560],"class_list":["post-27414","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-detroit-lions","tag-matthew-stafford"],"yoast_head":"\n