With the March 4 deadline looming, the Baltimore Ravens and Joe Flacco reached an agreement on a six-year contract worth over $120 million, making him the highest paid player in NFL history.
Flacco made it clear after the Super Bowl that he was a "Raven for life," and this deal will make sure he remains in Baltimore for the prime of his career.
The record-breaking contract is a combination of inflation, Flacco's leverage and the Ravens rewarding a player who just completed arguably the greatest run by a quarterback in postseason history.
Considering the way Flacco lead his team to a Super Bowl victory while claiming the MVP award and taking into account the success he's had in throughout his career in the postseason, the contract seems well-deserved.
While Flacco is being rewarded for past performance, the contract is more about what he will do in the coming years. The team is hopeful that the postseason Flacco wasn't just a matter of him getting hot but rather the result of better protection and a new offensive coordinator.
The Ravens want to see that Flacco on a more consistent basis in the regular season to help the team finish with the AFC's top record and earn homefield advantage in the playoffs. The Ravens always finish a win or two short in the regular season, forcing them to spend January on the road and do it the hard way.
It looked like the Ravens may slap the franchise tag on Flacco because they couldn't get a deal done, but as the team has done several times before with their star players, they managed to come to an agreement at the last moment.
The deal allows the Ravens to quickly turn their attention to their other key free agents now that some cap room has been opened up by completing Flacco's contract. It's likely that the Ravens look to get Dannell Ellerbe and Ed Reed signed before turning their attention to Paul Kruger and Cary Williams.
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