00:00The Rams got it done last night by getting a little extension to our guy, Matthew Stafford.
00:05And dear God, Matthew Stafford, can you loan me like 20 bucks?
00:09Because Matthew Stafford is officially the highest paid QB in the history of the NFL,
00:17taking his total career earnings because of this new $55 million extension that he's getting
00:23through the following year.
00:24So two more years officially here in the sunny city of Los Angeles, California.
00:31$408 million in career earnings for Mr. Matthew Stafford.
00:38Derek Fisher, you made that, right?
00:41Yeah, right.
00:46$408 million for Matthew Stafford.
00:49I would like to say, I know people hate to hear this phrase because I know it's so ridiculous
00:55hearing the words $408 million of career earnings and then saying the word deserved.
01:00But yeah, in this context of NFL QBs of all time, NFL QBs in today's day and age, a man
01:10who's 38 years old, who is the reigning MVP on the team in Los Angeles that has won a Super
01:16Bowl in the most recent years, and our odds on favor to win the Super Bowl this next year
01:21in a Super Bowl that's going to be again in Los Angeles, beyond deserved in my opinion.
01:28Matthew Stafford honestly is the most under the radar, greatest quarterback of like a generation
01:36I think we've ever seen.
01:37And I think a lot of that has to do with, you know, the Rams came back to L.A.
01:41I wouldn't say that the Rams came back with the greatest type of fanfare because let's
01:47be real clear, I'm a Raider fan.
01:49This was a big, big ass Raider town when the Rams left and went to St. Louis for a few
01:53years.
01:54I wouldn't say that L.A. fans forgot them.
01:57They did not forget them because when they came back, a lot of us were very, very excited
02:00about the Rams return.
02:01But I think the Rams return took some years to kind of get going, even though they were
02:07kind of great right out the gate.
02:08And I think this city has finally really adapted and adopted and got on the Rams bandwagon.
02:17It took some time.
02:19You're right.
02:20Because, I mean, the Raiders' history, you know, alignment, I think, in terms of fan base
02:29and people and, you know, communities.
02:32Like, I mean, L.A. is a super diverse, melting pot of a city.
02:37Big time.
02:37Commuter city.
02:38Yeah.
02:38So it takes time, I think, for not necessarily even, like, all new teams.
02:45I think teams that fans aren't necessarily as personally connected to, you know, to, like,
02:51really land and become a team that, like, the whole city wants to represent and get behind.
02:57And, but I do believe, as you said, the Rams, you know, have and are becoming that.
03:03And in L.A., success is what really drives that connection.
03:06And they've been successful.
03:08Man, have they been.
03:09You get lost in the sauce in L.A. if you aren't really successful and winning at the
03:14highest level because there's so many choices and teams to support if you're a passionate
03:19sports fan.
03:20So in order to kind of break through that noise and become a team that fans want to
03:25absolutely root for and change their entire life schedule around in order to support you,
03:30you have to win.
03:31And so Matthew Stafford, which is the point of this whole conversation, you know, he has
03:36led the Rams to high levels of success since he's touched down here in L.A.
03:41He's been the face of every franchise he's been a part of.
03:46And as the face of a franchise, the starting quarterback, I mean, he's age-wise, he's younger
03:52than LeBron, but he's the LeBron of the Rams.
03:55He's still performing at an all-star level.
03:58Big time.
03:58MVP.
03:59He's the MVP of the league.
04:00He was first in the league in passing yards.
04:03He was first in the league in touchdowns.
04:05He was fourth in the league in quarterback rating.
04:08Yep.
04:09So you get top five MVP quarterback compensation as well, as he should.
04:15So happy for him, happy for his family.
04:18Yeah, deserved.
04:19Sounds strange, you know, in the world that we live in.
04:23Like, I don't know if any of us deserve necessarily anything other than-
04:28Deserves definitely not the correct word, but earned is massively the correct word.
04:33Earned is the better word to say in terms of a pro sports athlete.
04:39You know, in a sport that, since he joined the NFL, has compounded exponentially in value
04:46and worth and all these media rights deals and the money that comes into the NFL.
04:51Not to mention the stadium, arguably the best stadium in the NFL now.
04:55The faces of these teams drive all of that business.
04:58Yeah.
04:59And so, yes, it is earned.
05:01And, you know, he and his family do the right things with it.
05:05You know, they care about the communities they live in and do have impact as well.
05:10So happy for Stafford and happy for the Rams that-
05:14Happy for L.A.
05:16Yeah.
05:16This whole, like, now you can just lock in on the season.
05:20And this also messages and signals, like, the Rams are still in, like, we want to win
05:24Super Bowls right now.
05:25Yeah.
05:26And not just this year, for the foreseeable future.
05:29He's locked up for now, officially two years, $105 million.
05:33Could be $110 million because his deal right now, his new extension, gives him the AAV of
05:39$55 million, which ties him with Joe Burrow, Josh Allen, Jordan Love, Trevor Lawrence, which
05:46I totally agree with.
05:47Dak Prescott's still the highest paid quarterback right now as far as AAV goes, but there is
05:53a, there is an, in this extension, it has an incentive deal in there that could get him
05:58$60 million over the 55 if he hits some certain incentive.
06:04So, listen, I think it's unbelievably earned on his part.
06:09And the reason why I bring up the all-time aspect of it, people don't seem to realize
06:14just how great Matthew Stafford has always been.
06:17And like I mentioned, I think a lot of that has to do with those Detroit years.
06:20You know, he was amazing in Detroit.
06:22If you go on the all-time thing, you know, let's go through, like, total passing yards career-wise.
06:27Where would you think Matthew Stafford, in the history of the NFL, currently stands, NFL
06:32on career passing yards?
06:35Top five.
06:36He is just outside of it.
06:38You are right, right there.
06:39He is number six.
06:41He is number six behind Aaron Rodgers, who's played more years than him.
06:44He's behind Brett Favre, Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, and Tom Brady.
06:48But number six of all time, and now two more years, he's going to surpass more people.
06:52Where would you say he stands all time in passing touchdowns?
06:58Definitely top five.
06:59He's done a ton of touchdowns.
07:00He's done a ton.
07:01He's just outside of it, and he's going to be passing some people this season.
07:06This season, he will be number six, because the guy ahead of him is Phillip Rivers, who
07:09played a long time.
07:12Matthew Stafford's got 423 career.
07:15He's seventh all time.
07:17And this guy ain't done.
07:18Who knows?
07:19We just watched Aaron Rodgers at 43 get another $25 million.
07:25Who knows how much longer Matthew Stafford actually will play?
07:28We know it's going to be two more years.
07:31And that's smart, though, to me as well.
07:34He will produce.
07:37In particular, they protect him.
07:38He can stay healthy.
07:39The Rams are going to win a ton of games the next couple years.
07:42But it's also smart to not sometimes when, you know, in contract negotiations, especially
07:48with veteran guys in later years, like you can end up committing too many years out of
07:54respect for what he has accomplished and to also message to him how valuable he is, you
08:01know, to the team.
08:02And so instead of signing a three-year contract extension, that kind of blows the Rams' books
08:08up and messes with their ability to kind of build out the roster after that second year.
08:13Because there are more moves they do need to eventually make.
08:15There's going to be more moves and more planning.
08:17He also, to me, this also signals, like, he wants the ability to kind of take some time
08:24to decide where he wants to go, you know, year in and year out in terms of how he wants
08:31to play, is he healthy enough, but he doesn't want to feel like I'm locked in for four more
08:36years.
08:37I just, I think Matthew Stafford is, again, one of those players and people that football
08:43is his life, but there is more life.
08:46And so to sign an extension for one year just to add and make sure he's protected for now
08:52is great, but it also will give him the ability to kind of reassess where he is, how he feels
08:59about his performance, where the team is, where Sean McVay is, et cetera, before he decides
09:04to continue to play for many years after that.
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