Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams closing in on new contract

The Los Angeles Rams and veteran quarterback Matthew Stafford have agreed on a restructured contract to return to LA rather than exploring other opportunites, according to NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport.

The Rams confirmed the news a short time later on social media.

ALLOW ME TO REINTRODUCE MYSELF pic.twitter.com/0uaAiGsWTa

— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) February 28, 2025

The Super Bowl-winning quarterback reportedly restarted contract negotiations with team executives early Friday morning after previously having trade conversations with both the New York Giants and Las Vegas Raiders.

No updated financial figures have been released.

After flirting with potentially ending his NFL career with his third organization, the 37-year-old Stafford will instead return for a fifth season in Los Angeles.

Stafford even had a reported face-to-face meeting with future Hall of Fame quarterback and current Raiders minority owner Tom Brady in Montana, though there have been conflicting reports at whether any official trade conversations were discussed.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter: ‘It comes down to what Matthew Stafford wants to do’

Stafford’s future has been the talk among NFL circles for more than a week, though ESPN insider Adam Schefter has long thought a renegotiated agreement could be worked out with the Rams.

Schefter joined The Pat McAfee Show on Wednesday and suggested there was still a chance Stafford would remain in Los Angeles, but it’s going to come down to the quarterback making the choice to stick with the Rams moving forward.

“I think that he should be happy with them. They should be happy with him,” Schefter said. “There are issues that both sides have been working through. I think in this particular case, he’s on a contract where he’s scheduled to make $27M, no guaranteed money. You have to adjust the contract.

“So, now you’ve given the agent permission to go out and see what other teams would be willing to offer, and you probably find that other teams are willing to offer more. It comes down to what Matthew Stafford wants to do,” Schefter continued. “Do you want to leave a place where you’ve had a great run here, where you’ve won a Super Bowl, where your family is set up? Or, do you want to go for more money to another one of these franchises that’s interested in a city you haven’t lived in? And I think that basically is where we’re at.”

Now that the Stafford dominoe has dropped, NFL insiders expect the 2025 quarterback market to begin to take shape with at least five teams still in dire need of an update at quarterback. Along with the Giants and Raiders, the Pittsburgh Steelers, Indianapolis Colts and Cleveland Browns are on the lookout for their next franchise quarterback.