What should the Los Angeles Rams do with Matthew Stafford's contract?

The LA Rams might have to make a massive decision with the contract of their stud quarterback, Matthew Stafford. The deal Stafford is currently on was a four-year, $160 million extension signed over two years ago, so clearly, the QB contract market has gotten a lot bigger since then.

In fact, both Detroit Lions QB Jared Goff and Jacksonville Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence have signed extensions worth $53 million and $55 million per year, respectively. Stafford likely sees that he's got one more chance to cash in during his NFL career, but with the QB in his age-36 season, the LA Rams may have to approach this situation carefully.

He's under contract for another three seasons, so he is slated to be a free agent in what would be his age-39 season in the NFL. The cap hit on his contract is more than doubled what is was last year, jumping from $20 million to $49.5 million. Financially, an extension makes a lot of sense, as it opens up more than $20 million in cap space in 2024, 2025, and 2026.

But with Stafford getting up there in age and having a career where he's been banged up quite a bit, what should the Rams do here? It's no surprise that he likely wants a raise, and he does have an argument to command more than what Goff and Lawrence got on their deals, as Stafford is better than both.

The Rams reportedly tried to trade Matthew Stafford to the New York Jets following the 2022 NFL Season, which does kind of tell you that LA already had one foot out the door with their QB, who led the team to a Super Bowl title back in 2021. It'll be quite interesting to see what the Rams do here, as making the wrong financial mistake could set the team back a few years.

But Matthew Stafford has earned every bit of a contract extension with the team. General Manager Les Snead is in a spot I do not at all envy, but all of Snead, head coach Sean McVay, and Matthew Stafford will have to eventually come to some sort of solution here.