Matthew Stafford and Jared Goff will forever be tied together thanks to the blockbuster trade made by the Los Angeles Rams and Detroit Lions in 2021. There may not be a better example of a win-win trade for two franchises in NFL history because both the Rams and the Lions have benefitted greatly from that swap three years ago.
The Rams won a Super Bowl with Stafford and the Lions won their first playoff game in 32 years with Goff under center, coincidentally against Los Angeles this past January. And now, both quarterbacks have landed lucrative extensions with their current teams.
On Monday, the Lions and Goff agreed to a four-year deal worth $212 million, an average of $53 million per year. That makes him the second-highest-paid quarterback in annual salary, behind only Joe Burrow ($55 million per year).
Another done deal in Detroit: Lions are signing QB Jared Goff to a four-year, $212 million contract extension that includes $170 million guaranteed, sources tell ESPN.
Goff now goes from former No. 1 overall pick to highest-paid Lion in franchise history. pic.twitter.com/FKlQuGDf8M
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) May 13, 2024
Goff also got $170 million guaranteed, the sixth-most of any quarterback and $60 million more guaranteed than the Rams gave him when they signed him to an extension in 2019. So how does Goff’s new contract compare to Stafford’s current deal with Los Angeles? Well, it’s significantly larger than Stafford’s deal in terms of total value, guaranteed money and annual salary.
- Goff: 4 years, $212 million ($53M/year), $170M guaranteed
- Stafford: 4 years, $160 million ($40M/year), $120M guaranteed
These deals were only done two years apart, which shows how much the quarterback market has changed in such a short period of time. Goff is making $13 million more per year than Stafford and he got $50 million more guaranteed.
Stafford is seeking an adjusted contract from the Rams to include more guaranteed money beyond the 2024 season, and it’s easy to see why. Considering the way quarterback contracts are growing with each new deal, Stafford is being left behind and he has no guaranteed salary left in the final two years of his contract in 2025 and 2026.
He seemingly took a bit of a discount when he re-signed with the Rams in 2022 because his new contract only made him the fifth-highest-paid quarterback in the league, tied with Dak Prescott. Ian Rapoport of NFL Network even reported at the time that Stafford “took less than he could’ve to help build on a Super Bowl-caliber team.”
More specifics on Matthew Stafford’s extension: It’s effectively a 3-year extension worth $129M — $43M a year. There are added years for cap purposes. But $43M over the next 3 of the deal. And Stafford took less than he could’ve to help build on a Super Bowl-caliber team. https://t.co/ZTI3EWtgF0
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 19, 2022
Obviously, one of the biggest differences between Goff and Stafford is their age. Stafford was 34 when he signed his $160 million extension, while Goff is only 29 years old. That’s a huge age gap, and age always comes into play when teams structure contracts.
Goff is much closer in age to players such as Burrow, Josh Allen, Daniel Jones and Baker Mayfield than he is to Stafford and his time left in the NFL is longer, so the Lions feel comfortable giving him a deal that will pay him an average of $53 million per year. Even at the end of his contract, he’ll be younger than Stafford is now.
It’s almost an apples to oranges comparison between these two contracts because Goff and Stafford are so far apart in age. But regardless, it’s great to see both quarterbacks excelling with their respective teams after that stunning trade three years ago.