How Old Is Matthew Stafford?

The NFL today is a league which features stiff competition from the young as well as the old. With players being competitive for more and more years nowadays with the improvement in medical science and physical training, we have a league featuring several rookies and sophomores as well as a multitude of veterans. Matthew Stafford, the commander of the Los Angeles Rams’ offense falls into the latter category.

Stafford has had a long and rich journey in the NFL. He has been a long time servant of the Detroit Lions franchise before he made his move to the west coast back in 2021. He has grown as a player and matured with all the experience of a fifteen year career behind him. Having said that, a career in sports can be only so long which raises the question of how old Matthew Stafford is at this stage of his career. But if 2023 season was any indication, Stafford might still have multiple years left in the tank.

Matthew Stafford’s age

Today, Stafford is a very successful, Super Bowl winning quarterback having realized his dream of playing in the NFL and lifting the Lombardi Trophy. But, not so long ago, Stafford didn’t even know this would be his legacy one day. The day was February 7, 1988, when he was born to John and Margaret Stafford in Tampa, Florida.

Having gone through all the ups and downs of the life of a football player from his high school days right up to the end of 2023 NFL season, Stafford has now reached 36 years of age. This is an age in sportsman life where one is not too sure about how long he will be able to continue doing what he loves to do. Several factors have to be considered and the question of retirement looms over a player’s head after every season is over.

But, Stafford does have many peers from whom he can take inspiration and decided to keep going until he really doesn’t want to or until his body doesn’t permit him to. Generally speaking, after what we saw in 2023, we could still see him playing the game for a good two-three years at the least.

Matthew Stafford’s NFL career

Stafford entered the league in 2009 with a whole lot of expectations on his shoulders. He was already touted as the number one pick in the draft much before the college season was even over. Carrying this huge weight of expectations, Stafford didn’t disappoint on an individual level, however, as far as team performance was concerned he never found any success with the Detroit Lions.

In his twelve long years with the Lions, Stafford has set an abundance of NFL and franchise records along the way. But unfortunately, none of those records could help him overcome the hurdle of making a long run in the postseason. Surprisingly, for a quarterback of his caliber, the Lions managed only four winning seasons and made the playoffs only three times in his career. Even in the playoffs, the team was unable to get past the Wild Card round in all three attempts meaning his playoff record was a dismal 0-3.

2021 though saw a complete change in career for Stafford as he was traded to the Rams. Playing with quality players all around such as wide receivers Cooper Kupp and Odell Beckham Jr., gave him much more ammunition in terms of offense. On the defensive side, the Rams added star cornerback Jalen Ramsey and explosive linebacker Von Miller while they already had one of the best defensive tackles in the game in Aaron Donald. This formed a formidable defense for the team making them one to keep an eye on.

Eventually, the Rams were able to go all the way and win Super Bowl LVI as the number four seed from the NFC defeating the Cincinnati Bengals in a close game which ended 23-20 in favor of the Rams. After a long wait of nearly thirteen years, Stafford was finally a Super Bowl Champion and had won his first ring. As time winds down on his illustrious career, the 36-year-old starter must be thinking of how many more rings he can win before the curtains come down.