Flacco and the cap....

[Oldschool739]

Biggest Misconception Of Flacco’s Contract

Joe Flacco’s $120 million contract hurts the Ravens’ ability to sign free agents. Right?

Wrong.

ESPN’s Jamison Hensley says this false notion is the “biggest misconception” of Flacco’s $120 million contract.

That’s especially true when you look at 1) the amount of cap space the Ravens had heading into free agency compared to other teams and 2) how his 2014 cap number compares to other quarterbacks in the league.

The Ravens burst through the free agency doors in March with more than a reported $24 million at their disposal. That ranked as the 11th-most salary cap space among all 32 teams. And remember, among the 10 teams ranked ahead of the Ravens were perennial low-spenders who rarely come anywhere close to spending to the cap limit, including the Oakland Raiders, Jacksonville Jaguars, Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals.

Flacco’s reported $14.8 million cap number for 2014 isn’t even the highest on the team. That distinction belongs to defensive tackle Haloti Ngata, who is reportedly scheduled to make $16 million.

Baltimore was hardly cap-strapped, even with their franchise quarterback on the payroll.

Flacco’s 2014 cap number is not that high compared to other quarterbacks. It doesn’t break the top-10 threshold. He’s No. 11 (tied with Tom Brady) and it’s hard to rank much lower considering most of the rest of the league is searching for a franchise quarterback or their franchise signal-caller is still playing on a rookie contract.

Of those that rank ahead of Flacco, half have not won a Super Bowl. Below is a look at the top 14 quarterback cap numbers, per ESPN:

Quarterbacks 2014 Cap Numbers
Eli Manning $20.4M
Ben Roethlisberger $18.89M
Jay Cutler $18.5M
Drew Brees $18.4M
Sam Bradford $17.61M
Aaron Rodgers $17.55M
Matt Ryan $17.5M
Peyton Manning $17.5M
Philip Rivers $16.66M
Matthew Stafford $15.82M
Joe Flacco $14.8M
Tom Brady $14.8M
Carson Palmer $12M
Tony Romo $11.77M

[ravinmaniac52]

I think most Raven fans know this. It is the fans of other teams that don't understand, and some of the media.

[Oldschool739]

I think most Raven fans know this. It is the fans of other teams that don't understand, and some of the media.

Some still blame him for losing Q and some others....When you see the comparison to other qb's in black and white, it registers better....

I thought it was interesting to note that Brady is so underpaid and Eli is so overpaid, and does anyone believe that all those guys getting more money than him are even in his class, except for Peyton and Rogers ?....

[tgann68]

7 other QB's on that list never won a Super Bowl...

 

He was a deal.

[Oldschool739]

7 other QB's on that list never won a Super Bowl...

 

He was a deal.

Good point, nor a championship game if my memory serves me correct.....His contract was very reasonable in today's market.

[cravnravn]

Fans are ignorant to way contracts work, we have a few that all they say is we have is a 120 million.dollar qb, which is so untrue.. Our front office is not stupid, hell they are the smartest in the NFL.

 

Lol@ Ben's cap number

Edited April 4, 2014 by cravnravn

[RavenMad]

Anyone that looked properly at Flacco's deal could see it was a 3 year deal. At that point we can renegotiate if we choose and I'm not even sure we do that with how much the cap is projected to jump when those big cap hits arrive in the last 3 years of his deal. Not to mention at that point Ngata and Suggs' deals will be off the books.

[tgann68]

Good point, nor a championship game if my memory serves me correct.....His contract was very reasonable in today's market.

No doubt especially in today's market...Cano? Anyone? lol...

[colincac]

http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/baltimore-ravens/joe-flacco/

 

Will everyone just save this link already. Nobody has a clue what they're talking about with this contract.

 

Yes, it is reasonable now, but it isn't a "3 Year Deal". If we cut him after Year 3 we get a 25,850,000 cap hit. We also owe him 28,550,000 in Year 4 of the deal, 31 in year 5 and 25 in year 6. We HAVE to renogotiate, but even if we do that, we are just pushing the cap hits further on. Eventually, this is going to come back to bite us a few years down the road.

[RavenMad]

http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/baltimore-ravens/joe-flacco/

 

Will everyone just save this link already. Nobody has a clue what they're talking about with this contract.

 

Yes, it is reasonable now, but it isn't a "3 Year Deal". If we cut him after Year 3 we get a 25,850,000 cap hit. We also owe him 28,550,000 in Year 4 of the deal, 31 in year 5 and 25 in year 6. We HAVE to renogotiate, but even if we do that, we are just pushing the cap hits further on. Eventually, this is going to come back to bite us a few years down the road.

After his 3rd year of the deal his cap hit jumps to $28.5m but we would save just shy of $3m in cap space if we cut or traded him so yes I would determine that it's a 3 year deal. That said with the way the cap is expected to jump it might still be very manageable in 2016. So 2017 might be the year where Ozzie will have the leverage to renegotiate. My guess is Joe will redo his contract when it becomes apparent the Ravens need the money to sign some targets for him or some protection to keep him healthy. They will just point to this past season as evidence of Joe needing some help.

[thesteelhurtin]

Fans are ignorant to way contracts work, we have a few that all they say is we have is a 120 million.dollar qb, which is so untrue.. Our front office is not stupid, hell they are the smartest in the NFL.

 

Lol@ Ben's cap number

that's after 3 restructures and the final years of his deal. His actual number is around 14 without the restructuring and he has 2 rings and another appearance so even if he was at 18 it would be worth it.

[vmax]

I still can't believe that playoff run. One of the best ever. I'll never forget it and that's the greatest reward for a football fan.

[RavenousBG]

that's after 3 restructures and the final years of his deal. His actual number is around 14 without the restructuring and he has 2 rings and another appearance so even if he was at 18 it would be worth it.

You're right. It's worth it.

[thesteelhurtin]

I still can't believe that playoff run. One of the best ever. I'll never forget it and that's the greatest reward for a football fan.

I will admit it was a hell of a run by Flacco.

[RavenousBG]

It was exciting. It was unexpected by most.

[cravnravn]

I still can't believe that playoff run. One of the best ever. I'll never forget it and that's the greatest reward for a football fan.

Not just the playoff run, how about from 2008 til last year. 3 afccg 5 trips to the playoffs, a playoff win in each year. It's been a he'll of a run, and on paper we just reloaded for the next 5 year run.

[RavenousBG]

Not just the playoff run, how about from 2008 til last year. 3 afccg 5 trips to the playoffs, a playoff win in each year. It's been a he'll of a run, and on paper we just reloaded for the next 5 year run.

last 5 was great.

[vmax]

Not just the playoff run, how about from 2008 til last year. 3 afccg 5 trips to the playoffs, a playoff win in each year. It's been a he'll of a run, and on paper we just reloaded for the next 5 year run.

 

You can't ask for better as a fan. Anything more is just unrealistic expectations.

[Oldschool739]

 

You can't ask for better as a fan. Anything more is just unrealistic expectations.

Max, you forgot to put level headed in front of fan....You know most aren't, and when Joe misses a pass, they want to bench him, if Harbs makes a bad decision, fire him, if Ozzie picks a player that don't pan out, replace him and if Biscuit doesn't step in and over rule everyone, he needs to sell the team....Wonder what this team would look like if the fans made the decisions....