Rams and Matthew Stafford reach new deal to avoid camp holdout

The Los Angeles Rams didn’t address Matthew Stafford’s contract request in the last three months but the situation won’t spill over into training camp. After delaying his press conference by about three hours, Sean McVay told reporters on Tuesday that the Rams and Stafford have reached an agreement on a new contract.

McVay said the deal came together on Tuesday, so it came down to the wire for both parties in order to avoid a holdout by Stafford in camp. Stafford is in attendance for camp and will be on the field for the first practice Wednesday, so that situation has been taken care of.

As for the structure of his new deal, McVay said it’s not a contract extension, so no additional years were tacked on to his current deal. That means Stafford is still under contract through 2026.

“Ultimately, it was all geared toward finding a solution that really suits our team, but also accommodates some of the things that represent Matthew’s worth for us and we feel like we were able to do that,” McVay said.

Currently, Stafford’s contract pays him $40 million per year, which is tied for 12th among all players. However, his issue was with the lack of guaranteed money beyond the 2024 season. His salary was not guaranteed in 2025 or 2026, which would’ve made it easier for the Rams to move on from him.

With Stafford in attendance, along with every other player on the Rams’ roster, the team can now kick off training camp with perfect attendance and everyone accounted for.