Who is Matthew Stafford, veteran QB who won NFL MVP edges Drake Maye in historic vote

At the NFL Honors 2026, the Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford clinched the MVP on Thursday night, February 5, 2026, in San Francisco.

Stafford edges New England quarterback Drake Maye in the closest vote in decades.

Stafford secured 24 of 50 first-place votes and finished with 366 points.

Meanwhile, his rival Maye bagged 23 first-place votes and ended up with 361 points.

This was marked as an historic vote since Peyton Manning and Steve McNair were declared co-winners in 2003.

Matthew Stafford brought on the stage her four little daughters, who all wore matching black and white dresses, as he received his MVP award.

Along with this accolade, the 37-year-old Stafford has become the oldest player in NFL history after clinching his debut MVP while in his career’s 17th NFL season.

He also became the third-oldest player to win the award, followed by Tom Brady (2017) and Aaron Rodgers (2001).

Who is Matthew Stafford?

Stafford’s dominant career performance was the engine of the Rams’ success, he was the league leader with 4,707 passing yards, 276.9 yards per game, and 46 passing touchdowns while tossing just eight interceptions.

With a passer rating of 109.2, he finished second in the NFL and was the league leader with 236 first downs. Stafford also led the No. 1 scoring offense with 30.5 points per game as the Rams earned a 12-5 regular season record and the fifth seed in the NFC playoffs.

For context, Los Angeles fell short of the Super Bowl after conceding defeat to the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Championship Game.

After that defeat, the spotlight turned to Stafford’s future in the league, but the legendary QB gave his fans buzzing news of returning back to his 18th season, saying, “Hopefully, I’m not at this event and we’re getting ready for another game at SoFi.”

“I’ll see you guys next year,” Stafford concluded.

The Los Angeles Rams’ home stadium is set to host the Super Bowl in 2027.