Unhappy With $120 Million Contract, Matthew Stafford Takes Unique Approach To Dispute With Rams

There is never a dull moment in the NFL off-season.

Even when the kickoff of the season’s first game does not happen for over 100 days, the politicking and grandstanding never switch off, and Matthew Stafford heated up the rumor mill this week.

The Rams quarterback made it clear to Les Snead and the front office that he wants more guaranteed money for the final two years of his deal. While the Super Bowl champion signed a four-year $160 million deal a couple of years ago, the language in the contract makes it easy for Los Angeles to move off him without creating much dead cap space. The former Georgia quarterback turned 36 years old in February and has dealt with injuries, making it even more critical for him to restructure his contract.

Although he feels concerned about his professional life off the field, he did not let it interfere with the Rams’ title hopes on it. Unlike most players with contract disputes, Stafford chose to attend the start of the voluntary OTAs in May. Los Angeles fell to Detroit in the Wild Card last season and is playing its first year without future Hall-of-Famer Aaron Donald to anchor its defense.

The signal-callers sentiment could have also begun after seeing new deals for quarterbacks across the league. The Lions just gave Jared Goff a four-year, $212 million, a quarterback that the Rams traded away to get Stafford on their team. Kirk Cousins also received four years and $180 million with $100 million guaranteed from the Atlanta Falcons when he hit the market during free agency last March. Cousins is only a year younger than Stafford but without much postseason success, so his deal could be looked at as one of two sides base their negotiations on.

Head coach Sean McVay spoke to reporters yesterday and will keep all contract conversations “private” and “in-house.”