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Matthew Stafford: How Loyalty, Longevity, and a Super Bowl Created a $350M Career
Welcome to Gridiron Wallet — where NFL players don’t just chase rings, they chase bags. From million-dollar grills to side hustles that slap, we’re decoding how football’s finest make it, spend it, and sometimes… fumble it. 🏈🔥
The latest edition of our newsletter covers Matthew Stafford:
NFL Money: Two Franchises, Multiple Mega Contracts
Endorsements & Off-Field Income
Real Estate, Investments, and Long-Term Wealth Strategy
✍️Paper Play
NFL Money: Two Franchises, Multiple Mega Contracts
Anyone entering the NFL does so as a millionaire through a rookie contract. But those deals are capped. Of course, they can change a player’s life, but they rarely create generational wealth. That usually comes with the second contract, when players who perform well over their first four or five seasons are rewarded with massive paydays. Sometimes the raise can be as big as 400 percent.
Again, most players don’t get another big deal after that. Either they don’t play up to the contract’s expectations, or they reach the end of their physical prime and begin taking shorter deals, opting for the veteran minimum or thereabouts. Well, Matthew Stafford isn’t like most players.
Stafford, who was drafted by the Detroit Lions in 2009, didn’t just get one big contract during his neat two decades in the NFL. He signed his fifth major deal last offseason, and that one was significant: The two-year, $84 million contract pushed Stafford to $408.3 million in career NFL earnings, surpassing Aaron Rodgers for the most in league history.
Stafford was lucky because he got into the league before the NFL started capping rookie deals. So, as the Lions’ No. 1 overall pick, he signed a massive six-year, $72 million contract.
A few years later, he upped his annual salary from $12 million to over $17 million on a new three-year, $53 million deal. When that one was up, the Lions signed Stafford to a five-year, $135 million deal. That one made him the highest-paid player in NFL history at the time with $27 million a year.
Stafford was traded to the Rams in 2021. A Super Bowl title for his new team in the same season earned him another pay rise in 2022, when he signed a four-year deal that paid him $40 million per year.
Stafford has dealt with a lot of back issues in recent years, and because of that and his age (he’ll be 38 next month), another deal seemed unlikely. However, he has proven during what was more than likely an MVP season in 2025 that he deserved every penny of that $84 million deal he signed this past offseason.
💸 Future Proof
Endorsements & Off-Field Income
Stafford has never leaned into a celebrity-style branding. He has always been more focused on football and life as a family man. Still, throughout his career, he has maintained several high-value, low-volume partnerships.
Stafford’s biggest brand endorsements came during his Detroit Lions days. He signed a deal with the Ford Motor Company in 2015 and stayed with the brand for over five years. He appeared in several Ford F-150 commercials. He reportedly still owns a Ford F-150 truck.
Stafford had other notable partnerships in Detroit, some of which he still endorses. One example was his well-known ‘Can Cave’ commercial with Pepsi in 2014. The ad featured the quarterback surprising Detroit shoppers at a local supermarket, inviting them into a man cave built with Pepsi cans. Inside, he played catch, shared pizza, and handed out prizes to the participants.
After that, Stafford remained relatively quiet on the endorsement front. It all changed when he was traded to the Los Angeles Rams in the 2021 offseason.
In 2022, Stafford ran a commercial with AT&T that cleverly tied the company’s phone trade-in policy to the relocation of his career. That same year, he also signed on with Little Caesars Pizza for ads that ran nationally. Suddenly, the QB was back in the NFL spotlight, and companies moved quickly to capitalize on his popularity.
To cap it off, Stafford signed an endorsement deal with Nike in March last year. This was largely because Nike is the official producer of NFL jerseys, and selling with Stafford’s name on them required his approval.
At the end of the day, these deals were national-level, high-paying, and built around trust and consistency rather than flash. During his peak years, Stafford is estimated to have made around $5 to $8 million per year from endorsements. He has done far fewer partnerships than, say, Patrick Mahomes or Tom Brady. But he still has an extremely stable portfolio.
The brand strategy is clear for Stafford. He projects a family-focused image that appeals to the blue-collar audience. He also took sponsorships that aligned with his market, while leveraging key moments from his career to shape ads and commercials.
💡 Gridiron Wallet Trivia
Did you know?
🌿 Matthew Stafford and his wife, Kelly, donated $1 million to the University of Georgia in 2020 to help fund a social justice initiative and scholarships for underrepresented students.
🏈 ✨Dream Scheme
Real Estate, Investments, and Long-Term Wealth Strategy
Despite being the NFL player with the most career earnings ($391 million to be precise), the most striking aspect of Stafford’s wealth profile is that his relationship with spending money is very low-key.
He has never been one to flex a Rolex or live a lifestyle built for attention. Instead, Stafford’s financial focus circles around his preference for solid asset investments, professional oversight, and a clear privacy-first policy.
During his 12-year run with Detroit, Stafford owned a custom-built home in Bloomfield Hills, one of Michigan’s most affluent neighborhoods. That gated residence, which served as a long-term family home, was built for comfort rather than extravagance.
After moving to LA, Stafford sold his Bloomfield Hills property for a reported $6-6.5 million. His relocation to the west, however, brought an even higher-profile purchase.
In 2021, Stafford acquired a sprawling mansion in Hidden Hills, California, yet another gated community known for privacy and space. The home, reportedly worth around the $20 million range, sits on multiple acres and includes a guesthouse with resort-style amenities.
Apart from these practical real estate purchases, Stafford has also invested in properties in Georgia. While details remain deliberately sparse, he is known to maintain property connections in his home state, likely serving as family retreats.
When it comes to financial markets, the current MVP favorite follows the same old-school approach, taking minimal risks and avoiding unconventional choices.
As things stand, there’s no public record of Stafford being involved in crypto, NFTs, or VC funds. Instead, he is known to rely on professional advisors to manage diversified portfolios, tax efficiency across state lines, and long-term asset protection.
Philanthropy, however, is where his off-field presence becomes more visible. Alongside his wife, Kelly, Matthew has been deeply involved with the Kelly Cares Foundation, which focuses on pediatric cancer support and community-based initiatives.
Their contributions have left real footprints in both Detroit and Los Angeles, including support for children’s hospitals, families in medical crises, and frontline workers during the pandemic.
Post-retirement, Stafford may get more involved with his money, like many of his peers did. But until then, he remains the no-nonsense, family-first loving dad who likes to play ball at a very high level on Sundays.
📆 NFL Money Stat of 1960
In 1960, the average NFL player salary was approximately $12,000 per year, while players in the newly formed AFL earned slightly more—around $15,000—as the rival league tried to attract talent with higher pay.