In a commercial that debuted last week, Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford gets prepped on taking over phone trade-ins from Lily from AT&T while she enjoys NCAA basketball tournament games.
As an analogy for confirming he understands how the service works, Stafford alludes to his trade from the Lions to the Rams, talking about the ability to trade in a phone someone's owned for 12 years for a new one that suits their life now, then having immediate success – while still never forgetting that old phone.
"It's a great trade," Lily tells Stafford.
"Life-changing," Stafford replies, followed by a wink to the camera.
So much so, Stafford committed to being in the horns for the foreseeable future by signing a four-year contract extension to say in Los Angeles through the 2026 season.
Speaking to reporters during a video conference Monday, Stafford attributed the decision to lock down that long-term commitment to the experience he had during his first season with the Rams.
"I just had so much fun playing with this team this year, playing for this organization, this coaching staff, I wanted to make sure that I was able to do that for a long time," Stafford said.
In a 2021 season culminating with a Super Bowl LVI victory over the Bengals at SoFi Stadium, Stafford threw the second-most passing touchdowns (41) and third-most passing yards (4,886) in the NFL. His touchdowns tied Kurt Warner's franchise record set in 1999, while his passing yards set a new franchise record.
While the offseason saw the quarterback market reset significantly in terms of the value of the deals signed, Stafford said his goal was to work out a mutually-beneficial one between him and the Rams.
"I was just trying to find something that felt good for both sides, and we were able to continue to add players and pieces around me, and then still take care of all the stuff that you want to take care of as a professional player," Stafford said. "So it was great, I'm just happy to be a part of this organization for the foreseeable future."
With that security in place, Stafford now turns his attention toward running it back and working with familiar and new pieces to the offense.
The Rams re-signed center Brian Allen and left tackle Joe Noteboom to three-year deals, then brought in wide receiver Allen Robinson II on a three-year deal during the first wave of free agency.
"His ability to go up and make catches over guys, around guys, whatever it is, is really special. I've seen it up close and personal," Stafford said of Robinson. "But at the same time for a guy his size, I think he does a great job of separating too. There's quite a few times where he's doing a great job, whether it's at the line of scrimmage or at the top of this route, where he's transitioning and doing a great job of creating space for the quarterback as well. So I think you get the best of both worlds when it comes to that with him."
Stafford is grateful to the Rams for giving him the opportunity to sign a long-term extension.
"It was a lot of hard work getting to this point, and I'm just happy that we are where we are," Stafford said. "I know, you know what the future looks like for me and for our team, so it's an exciting thing as a player to know where you're going to be able to put some roots down and really go try to make something really special for a while."
