Seventeen years into his career, Matthew Stafford's trophy case is starting to fill up.
The Los Angeles Rams quarterback was named the 2025 AP NFL Most Valuable Player on Thursday night at NFL Honors in San Francisco.
Stafford just barely won MVP over Patriots quarterback Drake Maye in the closest MVP vote since 2003. Stafford received 366 points with 24 first-place votes, while Maye garnered 361 points and 23 first-place votes. Bills QB Josh Allen (two) and the Chargers' Justin Herbert (one) got the other three first-place votes.
Also of note for Rams' fans, Stafford indicated he will return for the 2026 season in his acceptance speech, saying he hoped next year he wouldn't be back at NFL Honors but practicing for the Super Bowl.
“I'll see you guys next year," Stafford said.
Just a two-time Pro Bowler heading into the 2025 campaign, Stafford was lights out this past season, earning a third Pro Bowl nod and his initial first-team All-Pro selection. He now adds an MVP trophy.
Stafford led the league with 4,707 passing yards, 276.9 yards per game, and 46 passing touchdowns while tossing just eight interceptions. He ranked second in passer rating (109.2) and led the league in first downs (236). He also led the No. 1 scoring offense (30.5 points per game) as the Rams earned a 12-5 regular season record and the fifth-seed in the NFC playoffs.
The 37-year-old signal-caller entered the campaign with questions about whether his back would hold up after missing time while nursing the injury before the season. Then the season started. The veteran not only looked fine, but he thrived, spraying darts and no-look passes all over the gridiron.
The No. 1 overall pick in 2009 by the Detroit Lions, Stafford was long overlooked among his peers, brushed aside as a player who stacked yardage on a losing club. Since his move to L.A. in 2021, the QB has silenced those criticisms, taking Sean McVay’s offense to the next level with his cannon of an arm and heady playmaking in the crucible of big moments.
Adding an MVP trophy and first-team All-Pro to his Super Bowl LVI trophy will strengthen the debate over Stafford’s Hall of Fame candidacy whenever he decides to hang up his cleats.