Matthew Stafford Contract: Salary, Guaranteed Money, 2026 Option

Good things tend to happen to Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks. That’s how Matthew Stafford came to sign a new contract extension with the Rams in March 2022, just one month after he piloted Los Angeles to a win over the Bengals in Super Bowl LVI. 

Matthew Stafford Contract

On March 19, 2022, Matthew Stafford signed a new 4-year contract extension with the Rams worth $160 million. That included a $60 million signing bonus and tens of millions of backloaded dollars.

Matthew Stafford Salary

Matthew Stafford’s annualized salary is a clean $40 million, but the year-by-year breakdown is pretty up and down.

In 2022 and 2023, Stafford collected only $1.5 million in base salary per year as the Rams worked through some major cap restructuring. Starting in 2024, his base salary takes a significant jump:

• 2024 base salary: $31 million
• 2025 base salary: $27 million
• 2026 base salary: $26 million

Matt Stafford Guaranteed Money

Matt Stafford’s current contract includes $130 million in guaranteed money. When the extension was first signed, it only included $63 million in guaranteed money – the $60 million in signing bonus cash and the first two years of a $1.5 million base salary.

Prior to the 2023 season, the contract allowed the Rams to exercise an option to keep Stafford through 2024 or waive him for poor play or (more relevant) injury concerns. The Rams kept him, and his guaranteed money jumped to $130 million.

Additionally, Stafford’s current contract extension withholds $6.5 million per year as a non-guaranteed team option, and he loses that money if the Rams decide to move on from him prior to the start of any new season cycle. 

Matthew Stafford Option (2026)

The final year of Matthew Stafford’s contract is a team option for 2026. The Rams can keep him around for his age-38 season for $36.6 million in total compensation if they so choose. 

If the Rams cut him, he comes with a dead cap figure of $18.5 million.