Though he hasn’t officially been put on the trade block yet, there may not be a hotter name in NFL trade talks than Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford. Stafford has two years left on his current contract with the Rams that pays $40 million per year, but according to NFL insider Peter Schrager, the 37-year-old passer wants to be paid like a top-10 QB.
During Monday’s episode of “Good Morning Football,” Schrager gave an update on where things stand with Stafford and the Rams, and it seems like things with the Pro Bowl QB may simply boil down to he’ll play for whichever team is willing to pay him the most. “This is a money issue, and Matthew Stafford wants to be paid what he thinks he’s worth,” Schrager said. ”
He wants to be paid more than $50 million (per year). “… They’ve given him the ability to go seek out what might be some teams that would be of interest and if those teams would pay him, and guess what, there are teams that willing to pay him more than what the Rams are currently willing to pay him. The questions is, does Stafford want to go to those teams and what are those teams willing to give up?”
Here's @pschrags emptying his bag on what he's got and where things stand with Matthew Stafford and the Rams 👇 pic.twitter.com/ET4fCII6d2
— Good Morning Football (@gmfb) February 24, 2025
The $10 million raise would make Stafford the 10th-highest paid QB in the NFL on a per-year basis behind Dallas’ Dak Prescott ($60M), Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow ($55M), Green Bay’s Jordan Love ($55M), Jacksonville’s Trevor Lawrence ($55M), Miami’s Tua Tagovailoa ($53.1M), Detroit’s Jared Goff ($53M), Los Angeles’ Justin Herbert ($52.5M), Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson ($52M), and Philadelphia’s Jalen Hurts ($51M).
But as Schrager pointed out, the problem with Stafford’s salary demand is it puts the squeeze on any team that would acquire him in having to absorb a huge cap hit while also parting with a premium draft pick (the Rams reportedly want a first-round pick in exchange for Stafford).
“Say you trade him to the Steelers, are the Steelers willing to give a first- or second-round pick and pay Matthew Stafford $50-plus million? And is Stafford willing to go play in Pittsburgh in the cold weather? “How about the Giants? They’re not giving up the third overall pick, but would they be willing to give up the 34th overall pick and pay him $55 million? If that’s the case, does that make sense?”
SI.com’s Albert Breer reported on Monday morning that four teams – the Cleveland Browns, Las Vegas Raiders, New York Giants, and Pittsburgh Steelers – have reached out to the Rams to inquire about Stafford.
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