Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay made it clear that the Rams are “Matthew’s team,” referring to reigning NFL MVP quarterback Matthew Stafford, after they shockingly selected Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson with the 13th overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft on April 23.
It looks like the Rams will remain Stafford’s team through the 2027 season.
On Thursday, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that Stafford, 38, reached an agreement with the Rams on a one-year, $55 million extension that “can rise to as much as $60 million with incentives” and brings his overall contract to two years and $105 million.
If that’s not enough to reassure Stafford, nothing is.
The rationale for the Rams using their lone first-round pick on a quarterback in a win-now window has been that, while 2027 is expected to be a generational QB draft, the Rams do not plan to be picking that high in the first round for the foreseeable future.
More than most quarterbacks drafted as highly as Simpson, Simpson will benefit immensely from one or two years developing behind Stafford. Last year was Simpson’s lone season as Alabama’s starting quarterback. According to Rich Eisen, Los Angeles became the first team with the reigning NFL MVP at quarterback to draft a quarterback in the first round of the following draft since the Green Bay Packers in 1967.
Stafford played the best ball of his life en route to his first MVP, and Los Angeles fell short to the eventual champion Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Championship Game in January. The defensive secondary was the Rams’ only glaring weakness, and general manager Les Snead addressed that by trading for All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie and signing cornerback Jaylen Watson, both former Kansas City Chiefs, in March.
The Rams are the odds-on favorites to win the Super Bowl next season. Super Bowl LXI will be held at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, the Rams’ home stadium. Four years ago, the Super Bowl was played at SoFi, and Stafford and the Rams won it.
Whether the Rams drafted Simpson or not, Stafford has plenty of motivation to win another Super Bowl, not least of which is that it would cement his Hall of Fame case.