Rams: Does Tom Brady’s retirement impact Matthew Stafford?

The LA Rams may not have bested him in Super Bowl LIII, but the team did manage to beat him along the way to winning Super Bowl LVI. The chance to face him again ended on Wednesday, February 1, 2023, as long-time NFL quarterback Tom Brady retired, albeit for the second time.  He was slated to become a free agent this off-season, adding his name to an ever-growing list of veteran quarterbacks who are slated to switch teams and hope to compete in the post-season in a new uniform.

We know that LA Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford had already weighed his own retirement quite carefully this off-season. But that decision came rather quickly and it came before the LA Rams knew whether or not their head coach Sean McVay would be back.

No more Stafford-Brady contests

Today, the LA Rams lost the chance to play QB Tom Brady one more time. Oh, there were still rumors that he would sign with the San Francisco 49ers, and compete for one more Super Bowl ring. There were rumors that he would consider signing with any number of teams.  But on this day, he no longer sees his future in a pocket.

His future is now in the broadcast booth. And as crazy as this sounds, he will earn more money in ten years of broadcasting than he did in 23 years of playing quarterback in the NFL.

Sounds like an easy decision to me.

But this decision, as personal as it may be, does have repercussions for the entire NFL. After all, NFL teams interweave and recycle players each offseason, and the opportunity to sign Tom Brady was certainly more than a handful of NFL teams had in their sights during the NFL Free Agency market.

So let’s see how his decision might impact that of LA Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford.