The reigning Super Bowl champions will be keeping their star quarterback around for a while longer.
According to CBS Sports NFL Insider Jason La Canfora, the Rams and Matthew Stafford have agreed on a four-year contract extension that will pay Stafford $160 million, of which $135 million is guaranteed. Stafford is heading into the final year of his current contract, which will pay him a total of $23 million. The base salary for Stafford’s current deal is $12.5 million, and he has a roster bonus of $10 million, plus a workout bonus of $500,000.
Stafford’s extension makes him one of six quarterbacks with an average annual value of at least $40 million, along with Dak Prescott, Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes, Deshaun Watson, and Aaron Rodgers.
Stafford is coming off of a dream-worthy first season in Los Angeles, during which he completed 404 of 601 passes (67.2%) for 4,886 yards (8.1 per attempt), a career-high-tying 41 touchdowns, and 17 interceptions. He and Cooper Kupp quickly became one of the best quarterback-receiver duos in the NFL, and he was also able to integrate Odell Beckham Jr. on the fly after the season-ending injury to Robert Woods.
Of course, all of that was prelude to the Rams’ success in the playoffs, which culminated in a Super Bowl victory against the Cincinnati Bengals. The journey justified the Rams’ decision to trade for Stafford last offseason, and also made them the second consecutive team (and second team ever) to win a Super Bowl in their home stadium. Now, Stafford will call that stadium home for the next five years.
