Why Matthew Stafford is a Pro Football Hall of Fame lock after winning his first NFL MVP award
He joins an exclusive club of players with an NFL MVP and Super Bowl ring
Matthew Stafford has done it. He's the 2025 NFL MVP after edging out Drake Maye for the award. Stafford may have fallen short of a second Super Bowl, but this is a pretty nice consolation prize as he earned the award after becoming the first quarterback to lead the NFL in pass yards, pass touchdowns and TD-INT ratio since Tom Brady in 2007.
The award also puts a bow on Stafford's career and if history is any indication, he's now a virtual lock for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He's the 15th QB in NFL history with an NFL MVP and Super Bowl title (as a starter). Ten of the other 14 already have gold jackets, while Brady, Aaron Rodgers and Patrick Mahomes will one day make it 13 of 14. The only Hall of Fame-eligible QB on this list who is not in Canton is Joe Theismann, whose career ended abruptly in 1985 after a gruesome leg injury.
QBs with NFL MVP and Super Bowl title
| In Pro Football Hall of Fame? | |
|---|---|
Matthew Stafford | Not eligible yet |
Joe Montana | Yes |
Terry Bradshaw | Yes |
Bart Starr | Yes |
John Elway | Yes |
Peyton Manning | Yes |
Johnny Unitas | Yes |
Ken Stabler | Yes |
Steve Young | Yes |
Brett Favre | Yes |
Kurt Warner | Yes |
Tom Brady | Not eligible yet |
Aaron Rodgers | Not eligible yet |
Patrick Mahomes | Not eligible yet |
Joe Theismann | No |
Of course, being in this list alone doesn't guarantee a QB makes the Hall of Fame. However, it was the only missing piece of Stafford's Hall of Fame resume, and now it is a critical addition that separates him from other quarterbacks he could find himself on the Hall of Fame ballot with in the next five to 10 years.
It's going to be tough to judge quarterbacks like Stafford, Matt Ryan, Russell Wilson, Eli Manning and Philip Rivers once they collide on the ballot (if they do) as they've all compiled historic passing numbers in an era where passing numbers have become inflated. You won't find Cam Newton on the below "bubble" lists because his rushing stats make his best Hall of Fame case, but consider him another quarterback Stafford will have to top in the Hall of Fame voting process (Newton won an MVP and lost in the Super Bowl).
Notable 2000s QBs on the Hall of Fame bubble
| MVP | Titles | Pass TD | Pass Yards | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Matthew Stafford | 1 | 1 | 423 | 64,516 |
Philip Rivers | 0 | 0 | 425 | 63,984 |
Eli Manning | 0 | 2 | 366 | 57,023 |
Russell Wilson | 0 | 1 | 353 | 46,966 |
| Matt Ryan | 1 | 0 | 381 | 62,792 |
Breaking it down even further, Stafford hardly separates himself when you compare his annual rankings to those of these bubble quarterbacks. They were all great quarterbacks who found themselves near the top 10 of the NFL's annual passing leaderboards on occasion, but certainly not often enough to be a surefire Hall of Famer.
Notable 2000s QBs on the Hall of Fame bubble - passer rating ranks
| Avg Passer Rating Rank | Top 10s | Top 5s | |
|---|---|---|---|
Matthew Stafford | 14 | 6 | 2 |
Philip Rivers | 10 | 7 | 5 |
Eli Manning | 19 | 1 | 0 |
Russell Wilson | 9 | 10 | 5 |
Matt Ryan | 13 | 6 | 2 |
Stafford's average annual ranks for passer rating (14th), pass touchdowns (13th) and pass yards (11th) are more or less in the same ballpark as these quarterbacks.
Notable 2000s QBs on the Hall of Fame bubble - pass TD and yards ranks
| Avg Pass TD rank | Top 10s | Avg Pass yds rank | Top 10s | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Matthew Stafford | 13 | 6 | 11 | 9 |
Philip Rivers | 8 | 11 | 7 | 13 |
Eli Manning | 11 | 7 | 10 | 7 |
Russell Wilson | 10 | 8 | 15 | 4 |
Matt Ryan | 11 | 8 | 8 | 11 |
That makes his trophy case all the more important. Nobody on this list won both an MVP and a Super Bowl as he did.
Second act for the ages
I'm not sure what the Hall of Fame case would be against Stafford after this award. He could also return in 2026 and add to his resume. He's proved in five seasons with the Rams what he could have done in a decade plus with Detroit if he didn't have one of the worst supporting casts in the league (minus Calvin Johnson). He obviously never won a playoff game with the Lions and wasn't usually among the league's best quarterbacks on the stat sheet, but we can almost take that with a grain of salt now.
He rivals Peyton Manning for the best second act by a quarterback in NFL history:
- Stafford is the first quarterback all-time to win his first MVP award and first Super Bowl title, both at age 34 or older.
- Stafford is the fourth quarterback to win an NFL MVP and Super Bowl after changing teams (Peyton Manning, Brett Favre and Steve Young)
- Stafford is the oldest quarterback to win his first NFL MVP (37)
- Stafford is the oldest quarterback to lead the NFL in Pass TD for the first time (37)
- Stafford is the third player with three seasons with 40+ touchdown passes (Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers)
It's crazy to think that five years ago, Stafford was thought of as a compiler with a rocket arm that had never won a playoff game.
Now, with all that talent and the right pieces around him, he has a Hall of Fame resume worthy of football immortality in Canton, Ohio.
