John Matthew Stafford (born February 7, 1988) is an American football quarterback for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). He was raised in Dallas, Texas, and attended Highland Park High School. He played college football at Georgia, and was drafted by the Lions first overall in the 2009 NFL Draft.
Stafford is the fourth quarterback in NFL history to throw for over 5,000 yards in a single season, being one of three players to do it in 2011, and is the fastest player in NFL history to reach 30,000 passing yards (109 games). Stafford also holds the NFL record for the most comeback wins in a season, recording eight in the 2016 NFL season. In 2017 he signed a $135 million extension with the Lions, making him the highest-paid player in NFL history at the time.
Stafford was born in Tampa, Florida, to John and Margaret Stafford. He lived in Dunwoody, Georgia, while his father attended graduate school at the University of Georgia. He was the eldest of five siblings. His family then moved to Dallas, Texas, and Stafford attended Highland Park High School with Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw. He was coached by Randy Allen and was widely considered to be one of the best high school quarterbacks in the United States in the Class of 2006, ranked ahead of Tim Tebow.