Matthew Stafford is an American football quarterback for the Detroit Lions of the NFL. He was born February 7, 1988 in Tampa, Florida to John and Margaret Stafford. Matthew attended Highland Park High School in Dallas, Texas. As a junior, he threw for over 2,000 yards with 15 touchdowns. During his senior year he had 46 receptions as well as 1,500 passing yards and 13 touchdowns earning him Parade All-American honors. He was also named Student Sports Sophomore of the Year after throwing for 2,800 yards and 30 touchdowns during his sophomore season.
Career and Net Worth of Matthew Stafford
After being recruited by many colleges including Oklahoma State University, The University of Alabama and The University of Georgia among others; Matthew chose to play college football at the University of Georgia. During his freshman year, he completed 9 of 14 passes for 64 yards. He did not receive much playing time due to other Quarterbacks including Joe Tereshinski and Blake Barnes earning more playing time than Stafford.
| Full Name | John Matthew Stafford |
| Birth Date | February 7, 1988 |
| Birth Place | Tampa, Florida, U. S. |
| Profession | Football Quarterback |
| Wife | Kelly Stafford |
| Net Worth | $80 million |
During a game against Southeastern Louisiana in 2007, Stafford threw a pass down the field that was tipped by a Lions receiver and caught by Georgia teammate Kris Durham for a touchdown. The play proved to be instrumental in Georgia’s eventual 41-34 win over the then #1 ranked LSU Tigers after going into halftime with a 21-0 deficit. In 2008 Matthew led his team to an 11-2 record throwing for 2,523 yard 29 touchdowns and 13 interceptions while completing 67% of his passes The next season Stafford lead his team to a 10-3 record with 2,523 passing yards 25 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. Stafford’s final year at the University of Georgia saw him throw for 3,459 yards 31 touchdowns and 13 interceptions finishing his college career with more than 9,000 yards passing and 69 touchdown passes.
Career
After being drafted by the Lions, Stafford signed a six-year contract worth $78 million which included $41.7 million guaranteed. His first NFL start came on September 12 where he finished with 209 yards along with two touchdowns in an overtime loss to the Chicago Bears. He eventually became the starter midway through his rookie season due to then starting Quarterback Daunte Culpepper suffering an injury against the Green Bay Packers which kept him out until late in the season.
In 2011 Stafford threw for a career best 4,967 yards with 29 touchdowns and 19 interceptions while completing 61% of his passes. In 2012 he threw for more than 5,000 yards along with 41 touchdown passes and 16 interceptions which earned him a playoff berth against the Dallas Cowboys where they went on to lose 31-30 after leading 30-10 at halftime. The 2013 season saw Matthew get injured during a game against the Carolina Panthers which forced him out for three weeks before returning to play in Week 11 against the Pittsburgh Steelers earning a victory by a score of 40-10 however coming back from injury proved to be difficult as he struggled in some games despite still putting up good numbers including two games scoring four touchdowns each while passing for over 300 yards in seven games.
Life Highlights
In 2014 Stafford lead the Lions to an 11-5 record earning a wildcard spot with 4,247 passing yards 24 touchdowns and 19 interceptions. At the end of the regular season he had more than 20,000 passing yards along with 118 touchdown passes making him one of only four Quarterbacks in NFL history to throw for 20 or more touchdowns in their first six seasons. During his career, Matthew has completed 63% of his passes including becoming only the fourth Quarterback in NFL history to have at least 30 games with three or more touchdown passes joining Hall of Famers Dan Marino, Brett Farve and Peyton Manning. His current stats show that he has thrown for 35,071 yards with 208 touchdown passes and 116 interceptions which makes him the Lions all-time leader in passing yards and touchdown passes. He has coached by three different head coaches including Jim Schwartz, Rod Marinelli and current Head Coach Jim Caldwell.
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Since being drafted Matthew Stafford has seen many ups and downs, but it’s hard to deny the kind of talent he has along with his athleticism and size making him one of the more talented quarterbacks in the NFL. Staffords net worth is estimated to be $80 million almost entirely from contract salaries for playing football. His contracts have now made him enough money that he can now comfortably live off of endorsements alone however endorsement deals are not yet known to the public.
