Matthew Stafford is happy to be staying in Los Angeles.
After nearly two months of uncertainty about his future with the team, the star quarterback and the Rams last week agreed to a contract adjustment that will have the 16-year veteran under center for a fifth season.
“I’m excited to be back,” Stafford said Wednesday night.
Stafford was in Pasadena to attend Pasadena High School’s football awards banquet, where he announced that he and his wife, Kelly, were donating new uniforms to the high school and a youth football program that suffered losses from the Eaton fire in Altadena.
“It’s fun to be a little bit of a part of their team now,” Stafford told reporters. “Just happy to be able to do those kinds of things, and it’s fun to be around a bunch of young guys that love playing the game and love playing together.”
Stafford, 37, declined to answer questions about the specifics of a two-month drama that reportedly had teams such as the New York Giants and the Las Vegas Raiders interested in trading for him.
Stafford has two years left on the extension he signed in 2022 after leading the Rams to victory in Super Bowl LVI at SoFi Stadium.
Last season, the Rams and Stafford were at an impasse for months before the team adjusted his contract hours after the rest of the team reported for the first day of training camp.
This year, the Rams and Stafford’s agent did not let the issue linger. Stafford was due to earn a below-market $27 million in salary, but the situation was resolved last Friday. Terms of the adjustment have not yet been made public.
Earlier Wednesday, during a videoconference with reporters, Rams general manager Les Snead had characterized the resolution of Stafford’s situation as “a renewal of vows.”
Informed of Snead’s description, Stafford chuckled.
“Les is a man of interesting words,” Stafford said. “I love Les. Whatever he wants to say he can say.
“I just know I’m excited to be back.”
This story originally appeared on LA Times
