{"id":828796,"date":"2026-03-23T09:19:20","date_gmt":"2026-03-23T09:19:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/828796\/"},"modified":"2026-03-23T09:19:20","modified_gmt":"2026-03-23T09:19:20","slug":"matthew-stafford-makes-request-before-18th-nfl-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/828796\/","title":{"rendered":"Matthew Stafford Makes Request Before 18th NFL Season"},"content":{"rendered":"

Matthew Stafford<\/a> is preparing not for another Super Bowl<\/a> ring this May, but for a Rams House reunion. The 2025 AP NFL<\/a> Most Valuable Player and his wife, Kelly Stafford, are stepping away from the gridiron for a while to take on a 5K course, aiming to tackle some of the city\u2019s biggest social challenges.<\/p>\n

Approximately 172 days left until the kickoff of the 18th NFL season. Before that, in a video posted on Friday, the Rams shared a clip in which the veteran signal-caller said:<\/p>\n

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\u201cHey Rams fans, it\u2019s Matthew Stafford. We\u2019re excited to bring WalkUnitedLA back to SoFi Stadium on Saturday, May 9. Join me for the 5K walk-run event to support Angelenos in need. Visit walkunitedla.org to sign up for Team Rams and learn more. See you at the Rams House on May 9.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Stafford family will appear as honorary chairs at WalkUnitedLA, which will be held on Saturday, May 9, at SoFi Stadium.<\/p>\n

\u201cKelly and I are thrilled to return to WalkUnitedLA for the event’s return to SoFi Stadium,\u201d the Los Angeles Rams<\/a> quarterback said. \u201cComing off the excitement of last season and seeing Los Angeles rally around our team was truly something special. It\u2019s important to me to show our fans and the city that we are showing up for them the same way they show up for our team week in and week out. Los Angeles is a special community, and my family and I are grateful to be part of such a unifying event.\u201d<\/p>\n

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This annual fundraiser is a partnership between the Rams and United Way of Greater Los Angeles, intending to help unhoused neighbors and low-income families move from poverty to prosperity. Since its launch in 2007, the program has brought together more than 130,000 participants and raised millions to strengthen local communities.<\/p>\n

Currently, according to WalkUnitedLA<\/a>, Team Rams has 386 members and has raised $3,742 toward its $10,000 goal as of Saturday. Organizers are offering a free team shirt to supporters who sign up by March 27. In individual fundraising, Jennifer Prince leads with $250, followed by contributors such as August Family and Molly Higgins.<\/p>\n

Reports also indicate that 28.7% of households without a high school diploma live below the poverty line, compared to just 7.6% of college graduates.<\/p>\n

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Elise Buik, President of United Way, referred to the Staffords as \u201ctrue MVPs\u201d:<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are thankful to the Los Angeles Rams and to Matthew and Kelly Stafford for showing up as true MVPs for the community, on and off the field.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey champion what WalkUnitedLA is about, coming together with a shared vision of ensuring every Angeleno has access to housing stability, education, and the opportunity to succeed in life. The funds we raise expand college and career pathways that empower our youth, uplift families, and strengthen our communities. That\u2019s how we build a more equitable Los Angeles.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Kevin Demoff, President of the Rams, said that the partnership continues to deepen the organization\u2019s community impact: \u201cIt\u2019s about standing with our community, investing in young people, and walking together toward a brighter future for every Angeleno.\u201d<\/p>\n

Related: Rams Predicted to Draft Eventual Matthew Stafford Replacement<\/a><\/p>\n

This story was originally published by Athlon Sports<\/a> on Mar 22, 2026, where it first appeared in the NFL<\/a> section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Matthew Stafford is preparing not for another Super Bowl ring this May, but for a Rams House reunion.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":828797,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2079],"tags":[7,1014,58,2444,2611,32,6,424,114571,114570],"class_list":{"0":"post-828796","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles-rams","8":"tag-football","9":"tag-los-angeles","10":"tag-los-angeles-rams","11":"tag-losangeles","12":"tag-losangelesrams","13":"tag-matthew-stafford","14":"tag-nfl","15":"tag-rams","16":"tag-stafford-family","17":"tag-team-rams"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116277750484406036","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/828796","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=828796"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/828796\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/828797"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=828796"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=828796"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=828796"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}