Stafford Sends Signed Jersey to Lions Fan Who Sold His to Take Daughter to Playoff

Last year, the Detroit Lions fell just short of reaching their first Super Bowl, losing to the 49ers in the NFC Championship game.

Despite this setback, it was clear the Lions were making progress under head coach Dan Campbell. The team returned to the playoffs for a second consecutive year, finishing with a 15-2 record that earned them a bye and home-field advantage as the top seed in the conference.

The Lions entered their Divisional Round matchup against the Commanders as heavy favorites, but the 8.5-point underdogs pulled off a surprising upset, silencing most of the 65,000 fans at Ford Field—many of whom had spent significant money on tickets.

Among them was Bryson Machonga, a Detroit fan now living in Wisconsin, who told The Detroit Free Press he sold his autographed Matthew Stafford jersey, some Russell Wilson and Ron Dayne-signed Badgers apparel, and “some nice bottles of bourbon” just to afford the cost of taking his eight-year-old daughter to her first Lions game.

Stafford, who spent 12 years with the Lions before moving to the Rams, saw the story and decided to send Machonga a replacement. The quarterback signed a jersey he wore during the 2014 season with Detroit, after having one of his current team employees track down Machonga’s details.

Machonga expressed his appreciation for Stafford’s gesture, especially during a time when Stafford was preparing for his own playoff game against the Eagles. He said, “It just reconfirmed who Matthew Stafford is. He had no reason to do this. He didn’t benefit from it. He’s not even our quarterback anymore…”

Machonga continued, “No disrespect to Jared Goff, I love what Jared Goff has done for the Lions. But this is why he’s QB1 for me, forever.”