Matthew Stafford is a successful American football player who plays as quarterback for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). He is the father of adorable twin girls, which he shares with his high school sweetheart Kelly Hall. Here you can find more interesting details about the athlete, his career, his family, and some brief facts.
Matthew Stafford Biography
John Matthew Stafford is an American football quarterback born in Tampa, Florida, the son of John and Margaret Stafford on February 7, 1988. He is the oldest of five siblings and attended Highland Park High School in Dallas, Texas, where his parents also happened to raise him. At the 2009 NFL tournament in Georgia, Matt was drafted by the Lions to play college football.
As a result, he was considered one of the best high school quarterbacks in the United States, according to his coach Randy Allen in the 2006 class. Interestingly, he was ranked before Tim Tebow. Rivals.com also considered him a five-star recruit and listed him as the No. 1 quarterback professional.
Matt led his team to victory in the 2005 UIL 4A Division I State Championship. This was achieved with a perfect 15-0 record. Matt defeated Ryan Mallett’s Texarkana Texas 38-31 and Jeevan Snead’s Stephenville 41-38 in the play-off round. That was an incredible performance even at his level at that time.
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Matthew Stafford Career Achievements
Matt Stafford scored over 4,000 yards of passing despite not playing the first three games of the season due to his previous knee injury. Because of this achievement, Matt was appointed to the “Parade All-America Team” and the “USA Today Pre-Season Super 25” in 2005. In addition to his numerous awards, he also won MVP and Best Arm at the EA Sports Elite 11 Quarterback Camp 2005 and the EA Sports National Player of the Year 2005.
In 2014, Matt’s team “The Lions” announced that their coach would be replaced and the position would be taken over by Jim Caldwell as the team’s new coach. After a disappointing 2013 season, they experienced an impressive upswing and finished with an 11-5 record. This was the team’s 6th NFC season, their first playoff appearance since 2011, and an impressive year for Matt himself, who ended the 2014 season with 4,257 passes, a QB rating of 85.7, 12 interceptions, and 22 touchdowns.
The following year, on January 4, 2015, the Lions suffered a setback in a wild card playoff game against the Dallas Cowboys. Although they won 20-7 at the beginning of the third quarter, the Cowboys came through and won 24-20. In that game, Matt threw 323 pass yards, had a touchdown and an interception.
On January 19, 2015, Matt received word that he had been selected for the 2015 Pro Bowl to replace Peyton Manning of the Denver Broncos due to a quadruple injury he sustained during a game. This was great news for the athlete as it would be his first Pro Bowl. In this game, he was named Pro Bowl Offensive MVP, with 316 passing yards, 2 touchdowns, and one interception.
Matt Stafford’s Family, Wife, Twins
Stafford is married to Kelly Hall, the sister of former NFL player Chad Hall. The two met when they were both in college at the University of Georgia. Interestingly, while he was playing as the football team’s quarterback, she was a cheerleader. After graduating and several years of dating, they married on April 4, 2015.
The couple made a wonderful announcement in November 2017 that they were expecting identical twin girls. Their girls named Sawyer and Chandler were born on March 31, 2017. They are cute in person and their parents have missed no opportunity to share their beautiful pictures with the world through social media.
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Quick Facts
Even before he had even started a college-level game, analyst Mel Kiper Jr. correctly predicted that Matt Stafford would eventually be the first choice in the NFL draft.
Stafford happens to be the fourth quarterback in NFL history to throw over 5,000 yards in a single season and is one of three players who will do so in 2011.
He is the fastest player in NFL history to have thrown over 30,000 yards in 109 games.
With eight wins in the 2016 NFL season, he holds the NFL record for the most comeback wins.
In 2017, Matt became the highest-paid player in NFL history after signing a $160 million extension with the Lions.