At a time when Rams coach Sean McVay and/or Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald may be musing about retirement in an effort to get Rams owner Stan Kroenke to cough up more cold, hard cash, there’s another member of the organization who deserves a major adjustment to his contract.
Quarterback Matthew Stafford enters the final year of his current contract, with total compensation of $23 million. He is woefully underpaid; the top of the current quarterback market currently is $45 million.
The Rams could play the franchise-tag game in 2023. The one-year payout will likely fall somewhere between $30 million and $35 million. Even at the high end of that range, the Rams would be paying $58 million for two more years with Stafford -- a bargain, without question.
Given the draft-pick investment the Rams have made in Stafford, they need to not screw around with him. He should be getting a new deal in the range of $40 million per year. He deserves it.
He’s not the type to clamor for it, to threaten to hold out if he doesn’t get it. In the past, he hasn’t had to do that. If the Rams are smart, they’ll make sure he doesn’t have to do it this time, either.
