Matthew Stafford opens up about taking less money to return to Rams

Shortly after the Los Angeles Rams confirmed that quarterback Matthew Stafford will remain with the club through at least the 2025 season, Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated reported that Stafford took less money than what the New York Giants and Las Vegas Raiders "proposed paying him as part of a trade" to stay put. 

During the latest edition of "The Morning After With Kelly Stafford and Hank" podcast hosted by Stafford's wife, he touched upon the reported conversation he had with head coach Sean McVay that resulted in the 37-year-old agreeing to a reworked contract with his current employer. 

"I had great communication with Sean the whole time," Stafford explained, as shared by Matt Ehalt of the New York Post. "Not all of it was things I wanted to hear and I think not all of it were things he wanted to hear. We had grown-up conversations because he and I have known each other and gone through a lot together. So, all of that was positive and good. In the end, especially, getting to the point where I know that I’m extremely excited to be back, I know (Kelly is) extremely excited to be back, we’re just in a really good place and happy to be playing for the Rams for another season."

This past Tuesday, NFL insider Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk wrote that it's believed that "Stafford was never leaving the Rams" this offseason and that "the Rams apparently knew it" during their discussions with his representatives. 

According to Peter Schrager of NFL Network and Fox Sports, Stafford could've earned roughly "$15M more per year than what he’s essentially going to play for" with the Rams had he agreed to join either the Giants or Raiders. 

Interestingly, McVay revealed this past Monday that Stafford's latest agreement with the Rams is little more than a one-year Band-Aid of a deal. Nevertheless, Stafford seems to have no regrets about how things played out this winter. 

"It’s still a humbling thing to have teams and, most importantly, the team I’m playing for in the Rams excited about me being a part of their team and leading the way. It’s a cool thing and hopefully we have a great season and get to figure it out again next year and continue to keep playing," Stafford added during the podcast. "We’ll see."

In the end, the Rams won by paying Stafford less money than he wanted and by avoiding making a long-term commitment to a signal-caller who will be closer to 40 years old than to 35 next offseason. One now can't help but wonder if Stafford would consider retiring if he and the Rams go through a similar experience regarding his salary in February 2026.