It suddenly feels like the Rams have been transported back to 2021 this season. They finished with the same impressive 12-5 record, while Matthew Stafford gave the young quarterbacks around the league a real run for their money, making some rethink their careers entirely. At 37, though, retirement looms for Stafford. It’s inevitable someday. The real questions are when it might happen and just how close it truly is.  

“I try not to think about that kind of stuff,” Stafford told Jim Gray on the Let’s Go podcast, making it clear he isn’t letting his age dictate his retirement plans. “I just try to enjoy the team that I’m on in the moment that I’m in…like I said, opportunities don’t come every single year. So I just try to live in them and cherish them when they’re here. I sure hope it’s not my last opportunity, but we’ll see. You never know.” 

That “never know” mentality has carried Stafford right into this playoff run. For two straight years, reports swirled around the league that the quarterback was seriously contemplating retirement. Instead, Stafford and the Rams silenced the noise with a renegotiation this season. Under the contract, he remains locked in with the Rams for the 2026 season. Still, the veteran added an important condition to it all. 

“If I end the year healthy, hypothetically, and all those kinds of things, I would surely entertain coming back and playing some more,” Stafford said on The Rich Eisen Show on December 9.

Stafford has worked wonders for the Rams ever since the Lions traded him in 2021. He led them straight to a Super Bowl victory that same year, then guided the team back to the playoffs twice, making it the third time this season. And with the way things are rolling in the playoffs, it wouldn’t be crazy to predict another Super Bowl win for the Rams. 

A deep playoff run like that could spark something big in Stafford’s mind about retirement. On one hand, the veteran could walk away with a second Super Bowl ring, ending his career on the ultimate high note. On the other hand, it might fuel his fire even more, pushing him to return for at least one more season. 

Whatever path Stafford chooses, one thing feels crystal clear. He will most likely retire as a Rams player. 

Will Matthew Stafford retire as a Lion or a Ram?

The Lions drafted Stafford in the first round, first overall, at the 2009 Draft. That moment turned a young dream into reality for Stafford. Sports Illustrated senior writer Greg Bishop captured that raw emotion perfectly.

“Only in high school did Stafford dare to dream of carving his own space on NFL Films. He did even that rarely, thoughts bubbling up every so often. Like: ‘Would it not be unbelievable to be a part of that for just a second?’” Bishop wrote on December 31.

Those dreams became real when the Lions picked him on that draft day. Since then, Stafford has graced the league for 17 years now (nearly two full decades). That’s no small feat; that’s huge! 

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Surviving in this brutal league at age 37 while sitting near the top of the leaderboards takes grit. But as retirement draws closer, a fresh question emerges: Will Stafford choose to retire as a Lion or a Ram?  

“At the end of the day, this is where we both want it to be, and I’m just glad he gets to play for the team and the coach that he wants to end his career with,” Kelly Stafford, wife of Matthew Stafford, said during the 2025 offseason.  

For now, the veteran quarterback insists he’s simply “enjoying” his time with the Rams, while dropping just enough cryptic hints to keep fans and analysts spinning wild theories. That said, the Rams face the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Championship Game at Lumen Field next.