After leading the Los Angeles Rams on winning the Super Bowl 56 against the Cincinnati Bengals last month with 23-20, QB Matthew Stafford is reportedly on the line to becoming one of the highest-paid QBs in NFL history alongside Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen, whom each receives above $40 million.
According to Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic, she believed that Stafford could hit a $45 million annual salary. Although there is still no official statement from the Rams about the final salary of the members, the team surely is trying to gather back all their better ones back on the team, also including Odell Beckham Jr. and Aaron Donald.
As detailed thoroughly in the story, most people I talked to in Indy would be surprised if it were under $40M, yet the Rams will likely push for closer to $35M and Stafford’s own input (and appreciation for the way the roster is built) may factor into a lower number. https://t.co/cjYsK7qfma
— Jourdan Rodrigue (@JourdanRodrigue) March 7, 2022
Stafford, Rams history
Prior to the Rams, Stafford spent 11 years with the Detroit Lions from 2009-2020. The 2014 Pro Bowl player has only played with the Rams for only one season but already has grown tremendously in his stats. He threw 4,886 yards complemented with a career-high 41 TDs, 17 INTs, and 67.2% of passes.
Not to mention, the 34-year-old led the Rams to win the Vince Lombardi Trophy, his first Super Bowl championship as well as the Rams’ since 1999. The veteran has only been with the Rams since 2021, but as reported by Rodrigue, the general manager of Rams, Les Snead, is making Stafford’s “run it back” with the team a priority.
In the last season, Stafford had a $23 million cap hit. However, Rodrigue stated that the deal now “could go as high as $45 million per year.” As it is closing into Mahomes and Allen’s cap hit, the report got everyone talking on social media. Considering that Stafford has only played with the Rams for one season, some people think that the price tag does not sound right.
Apparently, it will be hard to argue that Stafford does not deserve this, but in the end, it will be up to the two parties whether they are going to compromise or otherwise. While Stafford himself seems to not have any plan too far away from the Rams, it is also in the Rams’ best interest to sign Stafford an extension and restructure the contract, according to reports.
Meanwhile, the Rams must also secure some financial deposit if they want to keep OBJ and Aaron Donald back in their championship rosters.
The Rams went through the $45M per process last year when they had to pay Stafford’s full salary as well as the dead money due to Goff.
If the Rams get in at $35M annually, you can all consider it a MASSIVE win. Assuming it’ll be a 2-year deal with a third year option. https://t.co/z7ovgZLkwj
— Rams Brothers (@RamsBrothers) March 7, 2022
OBJ, Aaron Donald to stay in Los Angeles
Aside from having an ACL injury in the championship games, Rams head coach Sean McVay does not seem to have any problem taking OBJ, who is still on recovery until at least the beginning of November, back into the team.
“We definitely want to be able to get Odell back,” McVay told NFL’s insider Adam Schein.
“I also know that there’s gonna be some other teams that probably want his services, but hopefully we’ll be able to convince him to come back and be a part of this thing.”
As for Donalds, he stood up and yelled, “We built a superteam. We bring a superteam back, why not run it back? We can be world champions (again)!”, as the crowds went louder in a video.
With three of them potentially signed through 2022, hopefully, they can bring the Los Angeles Rams to repeat history.