Rams fans just got another reason to love Matthew Stafford

Los Angeles Rams fans were relieved when Matthew Stafford agreed to stay with the team, signing a two-year extension that ties him to the organization through the end of the 2026 season. This wasn't a situation like what Aaron Rodgers is facing where he's down to one team vying for his services. No, other teams were in on Stafford and wanted to bring him to their city but he chose to stay true to the Rams and come back for another two years.

According to NFL insider Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated, Stafford left $20 million on the table to return to Los Angeles. That's right. Twenty million dollars.

"With the Raiders and Giants willing to exceed $100 million over the next two years, he walked away from around $20 million stay in California. You can say, Well, look how much he’s made already! But $20 million is $20 million. And so that makes this a little like the final deals that Peyton Manning, Drew Brees and Tom Brady signed—where those guys took a little less to stay put."

Matthew Stafford left absurd amount of money on table to remain with Rams

As Breer noted in his column, the Rams were banking on Stafford not wanting to depart from Southern California due to the life he and his family had established there. Even with the Raiders and Giants pushing to land Stafford and wanting him to be their franchise quarterback, the Super Bowl-winning quarterback of the Rams didn't blink and returned to the team where he had the most success of his career.

Stafford was allowed to talk to other teams during the offseason and clearly valued what he had in Los Angeles. The Rams might not have paid him what other teams were willing to, but they gave him a nice pay raise and he has a chance to compete for a Super Bowl in Los Angeles, something he wouldn't have had in Las Vegas or New York.

Rams fans are already appreciative of Stafford given what he's done for this franchise since being traded to L.A. in 2021 but this takes it to a whole other level. He turned down a lot of dough to stay in Southern California and try to help the Rams win another title. Let's hope he doesn't regret that decision.