Matthew Stafford has taken his last snap as a member of the Detroit Lions, so long as his reported trade to the Los Angeles Rams goes through as planned at the start of free agency. But the 12-year veteran quarterback has thrown one more touchdown, at least figuratively, for Motown on his way out the door. Stafford's wife, Kelly, announced Thursday on Instagram that the couple is pledging $1 million to Detroit as a parting gift, specifically for the creation of a new youth education center in the city.
"We came here for football, but we are leaving with a sense of home and endearment," Kelly Stafford wrote. "Endearment not only for this city and the Lions organization, but a love for the people who make up this community. Detroit has supported our family not only by showing up on Sundays, but also through our most difficult times. You took us in as your own and made Detroit feel like home and that is what it became, our home. ... You will always remember Matthew Stafford as a Detroit Lions quarterback, but our hope is that you will also remember our family for our love of the Detroit community and its people. Thank you Detroit, for everything."
The Staffords' $1 million donation will be used for the establishment of The Kelly and Matthew Stafford & Friends Education Center, per ProFootballTalk. The center, which Kelly said will include "academic, athletic and arts programs, and service adults with job training programs, GED classes and community events," is set to be built in Detroit's Lipke Park at the site of the SAY Detroit Play Center. The latter center, run by Detroit author and philanthropist Mitch Albom, has been in partnership with the Staffords before, striving to "empower one of Detroit's most challenged and underserved neighborhoods."
"This is the legacy we want to leave behind," Kelly Stafford wrote.
