Portrait of Matthew Stafford

Birthday profile

Matthew Stafford

Matthew Stafford, American football player

Born
February 7, 1988
Age in 2026
38
Zodiac sign
Aquarius
Birth year
1988

About Matthew Stafford

John Matthew Stafford (born February 7, 1988) is an American professional football quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Georgia Bulldogs, receiving first-team All-American honors in 2008, and was selected first overall by the Detroit Lions in the 2009 NFL draft. Ranking in the top 10 of all time in pass attempts, pass completions, passing yards, and passing touchdowns, Stafford is currently sixth all time in passing yards per game and the fastest player in NFL history to have reached 40,000 career passing yards. As the Lions' primary starter from 2009 to 2020, Stafford had a breakout year in 2011 when he became the fourth quarterback in NFL history to throw for more than 5,000 yards in a single season, while also leading Detroit to their first playoff appearance since 1999. He helped the Lions reach the playoffs two more times in 2014 and 2016, earning Pro Bowl honors during the former and setting the NFL season record for comeback wins in the latter. After mutually agreeing to part ways with the Lions, Stafford was traded to the Rams in 2021 and led them to victory in Super Bowl LVI. In 2025, Stafford led the league in passing yards and touchdowns for the first time in his career, earning him NFL Most Valuable Player (MVP) honors. In 2005, Stafford led his team to a perfect 15–0 record and won the UIL 4A Division I State Championship. Stafford had over 4,000 yards passing despite not playing in the first three games of the season due to a knee injury.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

Matthew Stafford timeline

  1. In 2005, Stafford led his team to a perfect 15–0 record and won the UIL 4A Division I State Championship.
  2. In 2025, Stafford led the league in passing yards and touchdowns for the first time in his career, earning him NFL Most Valuable Player (MVP) honors.

The world when Matthew Stafford was born

Matthew Stafford was born in 1988. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1988

  • #1 song"Faith" – George Michael
  • Top movieRain Man
  • Top TV showThe Cosby Show
  • Best-selling bookA Brief History of Time – Stephen Hawking

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentBen Johnson stripped of Olympic 100m gold for doping
  • Top headlineGeorge H.W. Bush elected president
  • Technology milestoneFirst transatlantic fiber optic cable
  • Defining fadKoosh balls
  • Notable inventionFirst disposable contact lenses
  • World population5.11 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderRonald Reagan
  • Sports championLos Angeles Dodgers (World Series)
  • Also wonLos Angeles Lakers (NBA)
  • U.S. population244.5M

1988 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Matthew Stafford's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19882026
Gas$0.95$3.45/gal
Average home$89,300$435,000
Average income$32,191$67,500
Minimum wage$3.35$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket$4.11$11.95
Postage stamp$0.25$0.73
Population244.5M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, NFL. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.