The Baltimore Ravens made quarterback Joe Flacco the highest-paid player in NFL history over the weekend and his new contract includes up to $52 million in guaranteed money, according to sources that spoke to USA Today.
According to SI.com, the source remained anonymous because Flacco officially will sign the deal on Monday. The contract is a $120.6 million, six-year deal and is will count $6.8 million against the Baltimore salary cap for the 2013 season. Flacco will earn $62 million over the first three years of the deal and $51 million for the first two years, according to the source.
"Just very happy for Joe, his family & also for Ravens fans," head coach John Harbaugh told Breer from NFL.com via text message. "He['s] always been our QB. So to me, this is very fitting."
The contract makes Flacco the highest-paid player, as his $62 million average over the first three years is higher than that of Drew Brees, who signed a six-year, $120 million deal last summer. The deal for Flacco is huge, but it could benefit the Ravens in the short term, as the money does not hit hard against the salary cap.
"They had their pecking order and they had to get Joe done first," linebacker Dannell Ellerbe's agent Hadley Engehard told USA TODAY Sports Sunday. "l expect to hear from them in the coming days.''
The Ravens have a number of players they would like to retain after winning the Super Bowl, including safety Ed Reed, defensive end Paul Kruger and wideout Anquan Boldin, who made a huge impact in New Orleans. The team also can now use its franchise tag on someone other than Flacco to make sure they retain that player, including on Ellerbe or Kruger.
The franchise tag deadline is on Monday at 4 pm and there is a good chance the team will use it one of those players. The money also could help the team sign Reed or one of the other players they would like to retain.
Flacco essentially bet on himself when he rejected a contract extension before the season from the team and it has paid off nicely, as he threw for 11 touchdowns and no interceptions on the way to winning the Super Bowl.
During the regular season he led the Ravens to a 10-6 record while throwing for 22 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. The deal was likely to get done since the Ravens did not want to use the franchise tag, but the team would have done so if they could not reach an agreement. During the playoffs Flacco went 73 of 126 for 1,140 yards and is the only quarterback to ever win a postseason start in each of his first five years.
