NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport was the first to report the deal. While we’ve known since February that a deal had been negotiated, the dollar amount had not yet been disclosed. It was reported in March that Stafford and the Rams will operate on a “year-to-year basis” for the remainder of their relationship, and for this year, he will receive a guaranteed $40 million in addition to another $4 million he has already received. Stafford will be 37 this season and is coming off a year in which he threw for 3,762-20-7 while completing 65.8 percent of his passes. While he’s far from being the elite passer we saw during the prime of his career, Stafford still ranked 15th amongst qualified QBs in EPA per play last season and was seventh in expected completion percent. Rapoport notes that if Stafford is on the Rams’ roster next season he would secure another $40 million for 2026.

The Rams allowed the 37-year-old Stafford to explore trade options this offseason, but the two parties ultimately settled on a “year-to-year” contract solution moving forward. After working through the contract-related unpleasantness, McVay declares he and Stafford are “closer than ever.” It is no secret that the Rams recently acquired a second 2026 first-round pick and will likely try to draft their quarterback of the future next year.

“Usually another team who gets into that more serious level usually drafts that player earlier than we (would),” Snead added. It’s possible that the level of quarterbacking in this draft creates a situation where the Rams are comfortable with someone at 26th overall — that depends both on who is there and what grades they have on the middle-of-class quarterbacks — but it doesn’t seem like it will be the club’s priority this offseason despite Matthew Stafford entering his age-37 season. Snead noted that the Rams keeping Stafford means the club are in a “win-now” scenario.

McVay says Stafford, 37, isn’t worried about the possibility of the team investing into a quarterback of the future. McVay didn’t mince words about his desire to retain Stafford as the team’s QB1 as long as he desires to play, but also said he wants to ensure he has somebody in place when Stafford is no longer “leading the way.” What that looks like is anybody’s guess, but it sounds like the Rams will pull the trigger on a young signal-caller if they think they’ve pinpointed a prospect who can lead them into the future.