The Rams simply moved some money around and increased Matthew Stafford’s guarantees
Details of how the Los Angeles Rams avoided a potential Matthew Stafford training camp holdout finally emerged on Sunday, with NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reporting that the team increased Stafford’s compensation by $5 million in 2024 and guaranteed him $4 million in 2025. The moves actually didn’t cost the Rams anything in new salary—the $5 million was moved up from a later contract year and the $4 million next year is a new bonus—but served as enough of a gesture to the Super Bowl-winning quarterback to avoid any potential distractions in training camp.
How does Stafford’s deal look now after the details have been announced?
Stafford’s previous compensation for the 2024 season has increased from $31 million to $36 million, which ties him with Daniel Jones for the 14th-most cash going to a quarterback in 2024. Assuming Stafford’s cap hit increases to $44.5 million from this move, he remains the third-highest paid quarterback of 2024 based on salary cap hit. Only Deshaun Watson and Dak Prescott carry a higher cap hit in 2024.
Stafford had a $6.5 million roster bonus in 2025 and now he has a fully-guaranteed $4 million bonus. I am unclear from this report if the $4 million is new money or if the team just guaranteed $4 of the $6.5 million he is due in 2025.
Stafford’s base salary in 2025 is set to be $27 million, but none of it is guaranteed. The team could still theoretically move on next year if they felt it was what they had to do and Stafford is still a relatively “cheap” quarterback compared to the $53-$55 million per year contracts being handed out this year.