LOS ANGELES — Sean McVay was three hours late to his media press conference to open the Rams’ training camp Tuesday, but he had a good excuse.
The Rams and quarterback Matthew Stafford agreed to a reworked contract Tuesday afternoon after huddling together on the Loyola Marymount campus to work out the final details.
“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,” McVay said. “We feel like we were able to do that. That was always the goal in mind.”
McVay said the agreement is not a contract extension, rather a reworking of the final three years on Stafford’s deal.
Stafford signed a four-year extension worth $160 million with the Rams following their Super Bowl championship in 2022. But the last two years of the deal contained no guaranteed money.
McVay said that Stafford approached him near the start of free agency to let him know his representatives would be in contact with the Rams regarding his contract. News of his discontent leaked following the first round of the NFL draft, as it became apparent the Rams would not use high-end draft capitol on an heir apparent.
McVay and general manager Les Snead acknowledged they had had discussions with Stafford and his representation regarding his contract, but declined to go into further details.
“We’re definitely jacked to have Matthew as our QB,” Snead said at the time.
Stafford reported for OTAs and mini camp, a full participant in the Rams’ offseason program. But he declined to speak with media during the spring, while McVay continued to say he wanted to keep discussions with Stafford “in-house” until a solution was found.
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McVay said talks accelerated in the past week before the sides sat down over the course of 12 hours to hammer out the final details, which he declined to share. McVay and VP of football and business administration Tony Pastoors sat down in person with Stafford Tuesday morning, while Snead, team president Kevin Demoff and Stafford’s agent Jimmy Sexton joined virtually to avoid the looming possibility of Stafford holding out during training camp.
“I am relieved that it got done, and the manner in which it occurred was also healthy for everybody involved,” McVay said. “We were able to solve whatever that issue was.”
