Quarterback Matthew Stafford will continue to be the quarterback of the Los Angeles Rams in the upcoming NFL season. However, what happens beyond 2026 remains to be seen. However, his contract contains clear deadlines for any future decisions.
Last week, the Rams announced that they had agreed to a contract extension with Matthew Stafford for another year. There was talk of a contract until the end of the 2027 season, which could bring him up to $105 million including the upcoming season.
However, upon closer inspection, the new deal isn’t quite as clear in terms of length and salary. As Tom Pelissero of the “NFL Network” reported on Wednesday, the contract contains a few important deadlines that are intended to speed up decisions about Stafford’s future, after the QB had sometimes taken a relatively long time in recent years before coming to a decision about the upcoming season.
In 2026, Stafford will earn a total of $40 million ($16 million base salary, $24 million signing bonus). He is also guaranteed a roster bonus ($5 million) for 2027. An additional five million dollars can be added each year if he completes 70 percent of the offensive snaps and the Rams win the NFC Championship and the Super Bowl (2.5 million each). Afterwards, however, we will see what happens next.
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Stafford deadlines are in March
According to the report, an important deadline is coming up next March. If he is still on the roster on the third day of the new league year, he will be guaranteed $45 million of his base salary for 2027 and a roster bonus of $5 million for 2028 – a total of $50 million. That means: It must be clear by mid-March whether Stafford will play for the Rams for another year or not.
However, spring 2028 will be even more exciting because, contrary to initial reports, the new deal runs until the end of the 2029 season, at least on paper – with a salary that basically makes a normal contract end impossible.
If Stafford were still on the Rams’ roster on the tenth day of the 2028 league year, he would be guaranteed a whopping $100 million for 2029. This in turn means that you have to make a decision by this deadline whether to keep the quarterback – should he still want to play at the age of 40 – or give him up. In any case, a further adjustment to the contract would be essential if the career were to continue.
These deadlines give the Rams, who surprisingly drafted quarterback Ty Simpson in the last draft, planning security. They will usually know what their quarterback situation looks like before or at the start of free agency. It wasn’t until 2025 that Stafford flirted with leaving for a long time and had concrete negotiations with the Las Vegas Raiders, among other things, before the MVP decided to stay in LA in the summer.
