Deep in the San Fernando Valley, just as the sun begins to rise and the Topanga Village mall yawns awake, there's a quiet little studio located across from the Rams ' practice facility where you might just spot the reigning NFL MVP sweating his way through a workout.
There's no roaring crowds. No intimidating pass rush. No spirals being thrown through the air.
Just Matthew Stafford in his yoga clothes, bending himself into a half-moon pose.
Former Patriots quarterback Tom Brady was one of the first NFL players to embrace yoga. (Photo by John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images) Boston Globe via Getty Images
Stafford has been on record talking about how he's incorporated yoga into his routine to lose weight in order to stay in shape during the latter years of his career, but according to ESPN's Ramona Shelburne, Stafford has become a regular at her early-morning hot yoga classes in Woodland Hills.
"Matthew Stafford is there almost every day," Shelburne told Steve Mason of "Mason and Ireland" on ESPN710 on Wednesday. "He comes solo. He wears a hoodie … He's very good. Very flexible."
Shelburne says Stafford is unrecognizable at the class, and if his name occasionally wasn't written on the studio board with a casual reminder: "Come see us Matthew if you want to buy another 10 pack." Then you would never know he was even there.
Stafford's regular hot yoga routine makes perfect sense. At 38 years old, the All-Pro quarterback nearly lost the start of the 2025 season with a herniated disk in his lower back . The old-school NFL approach would have been brute force: deadlifts, squats, leg presses, more muscle piled onto a body that has already absorbed 17 years of violence.
But with a nagging back, Stafford isn't chasing gym goals, he's chasing longevity and durability. Two things that yoga is perfect for.
Tom Brady and his groundbreaking TB12 method was one of the first in the NFL to speak highly of how yoga can help increase flexibility and pliability in the muscles. Those two things can help prolong a career over brute strength.
Lakers legend LeBron James stretches during practice and has made yoga a part of his exercise routine. (Photo by Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images) NBAE via Getty Images
Stafford has shared that early in his career, he was pushing 235 pounds and dealing with shoulder injuries in Detroit. He added yoga, swimming and dog walking into his routine to help him shed the extra weight. Now he's down closer to 215 pounds — leaner, lighter and smarter.
"There's probably some old photos floating of me out there at 235 lbs, enjoying life back in the day, playing ball at a heavier weight," Stafford told the Business Insider during Super Bowl media day in 2022. "But as I get older, fitness is more and more important, that's the biggest thing. I'm trying to do everything I can to make sure my body is in good shape and I'm ready to play."
Stafford isn't the only elite athlete to ditch the dumbbells for a yoga mat.
In 1981, Lakers legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar famously spoke out about the benefits of yoga on his body, and recently so did the man who passed him for the NBA's scoring title, LeBron James.
"Yoga isn't just about the body, it's also about the mind," James said about incorporating yoga into his off- the-court routine.
In sports, it's always about who is the biggest, fastest and strongest, but the aforementioned athletes all have longevity in common. Brady, considered the NFL GOAT with seven Super Bowl rings, played at a high level until he was 45. Abdul-Jabbar played until he was 42. LeBron is right behind him at 41. And Stafford just won the MVP at 37 and is still going strong.
It just goes to show you that maybe a little stretching, sweating and humility can extend greatness longer than brute force ever could.
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