While age is starting to catch up to him, Matthew Stafford has long been among the better quarterbacks in the NFL. Fourth all-time in passing yards per game and the fastest player in NFL history to have reached 40,000 career passing yards, Stafford has been a name synonymous with the sport for a long time now.
Born in Tampa, Florida. He eventually shifted to Dallas and attended Highland Park High School. Almost instantly, he became recognized as one of the best high school quarterbacks in the entire United States. One of the chief reasons was him leading his team to a perfect 15-0 record in 2005. Despite missing three games due to a knee injury, Matthew finished with over 4000 yards and received numerous accolades for his remarkable season. A five-star recruit, Stafford was already pegged as a first-overall pick before his collegiate career even began.
Joining the University of Georgia, he became the first true freshman quarterback for the team since Quincy Carter in 1998. He led Georgia to many ridiculous winning-game streaks. He was even responsible for the college’s first season since 1982 with wins over Florida, Auburn, and Georgia Tech. In his junior season, he won the MVP for the Capital One Bowl, while being named First-Team All-American and second-team All-SEC.
Stafford was eventually the first overall pick in the 2009 NFL draft by the Detroit Lions. His contract, which reportedly contained 41.7 million and guaranteed money, was the most amount ever guaranteed to any player in NFL history. In his 11 seasons with the Lions, he became a legend for the team. The spectacular contribution saw him be named to the Detroit Lions' All-Time team, while also making a Pro Bowl in the year 2014. After his first two seasons were lackluster, he made a bounce back in 2011 even capturing the NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award. In the process, he became only the fourth quarterback in NFL history to throw for more than 5000 yards in a single season. He led the Lions to their first playoff appearance since 1999 in 2014 while reaching the stage again in 2016.
In 2016 Stafford also said one of the more peculiar records in the NFL by becoming the player with the most comeback wins in the fourth quarter with 8. Mutually parting ways with the Lions. Stafford was traded to the Rams in 2021 and immediately led the team to a victory over the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl LVI. He was instrumental to the success as he passed for the second-most yards in a single postseason. After signing a $160,000,000 extension, Stafford had to miss a majority of the season due to injuries, but we saw a glimpse of elite Stafford in 2023, when he dragged Los Angeles into the postseason with a team filled with rookies left and right.
With 2024 approaching, Stafford and the Rams would like to get back to the postseason once again and make it all the way to the Super Bowl.
What is Matthew Stafford’s Height?
John Matthew Stafford was born on February 7th, 1988 in Tampa, Florida. However, soon after the family shifted to Dallas, we spend the majority of his childhood in Texas. Matthew Stafford has a recorded height of 6 feet and 3 inches or 1.91 meters. This height is perfectly suited for the quarterback position in the NFL. As a result, it has allowed Matthew to develop into one of the most consistent passers in football.
While his height is perfectly suited for playing the quarterback position, it is his accuracy that has earned Stafford all his plaudits. As a result, he finds himself in the top 20 of various all-time categories, like pass attempts, pass completions, passing yards, and passing touchdowns while also being 4th all-time in crossing yards per game and having amassed more than 50,000 career passing yards.
While he was short on accolades, that changed with the move to the Rams as he became a Super Bowl champion, leading the team with a remarkable season.
FAQs
A. At the ideal height for quarterbacks in the NFL, Matthew Stafford stands at six feet and three inches.
A. While championship success eluded Matthew Stafford for his entire tenure in Detroit, the shift to the Los Angeles Rams immediately paid dividends as he won his first and only Super Bowl championship.
A. After starting in 2009, Stafford spent the first twelve years of his career with the Detroit Lions before eventually moving on to the Rams in 2021.
A. Matthew Stafford has been married to Kelly Hall and the couple have four children together.
A. The first overall pick in the 2009 draft, Matthew Stafford has been in the NFL for 15 seasons as of August 2024.
