AP

Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford is expected to sign a long-term contract extension soon, but Stafford says no one should expect it to break any records.

In fact, Stafford says he wants to be mindful that under the NFL’s salary cap, every dollar the Lions spend on him is a dollar they can’t spend on another player. And Stafford says he wants to play with a lot of good teammates.

“I want talent around me, frankly,” Stafford told the team’s website. “You see guys breaking records with how much they’re making and all that stuff, and honestly, you want fair market value, but I don’t really care about breaking records too much. I want to break records on the field. I want to win games and have as many good players around me as I possibly can.”

Of course, that attitude is a lot easier to express in an interview with the team’s website than in a negotiation session with team executives. And Stafford’s agent might not be quite so quick to agree to a deal designed to ensure that the Lions have enough cap space to stay competitive.

But Stafford says he’s confident a deal can get done without too much trouble.

“I want to do something,” Stafford said. “We’ll figure something out hopefully, and if not, then we’ll move on and table it for a year. Obviously, I love being here, I love this team and would love to bring a winner here. So that’s my number one focus this whole offseason was trying to do everything I could to help us win.”

Time will tell if doing everything he can to help the Lions win includes agreeing to a team-friendly contract.