Joe Flacco and the Baltimore Ravens have reportedly reached agreement on a long-term contract that will be signed on Monday.
Both sides are still hammering out the actual contract language, but when all is said and done, Flacco is likely to be the highest paid signal caller in NFL history, according to ESPN . The deal will likely pay him upwards of $20 million a year.
Update: The new Flacco contract is estimated to be worth $120.6 million over six years.
Flacco, who was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in 2008 and was on an expiring contract, lead his team to an upset Super Bowl 47 victory of the San Francisco 49ers by a score of 34-31.
For Joe Flacco , the Super Bowl MVP, timing was everything, and it was perfect. During the recently concluded NFL playoffs, he threw for 11 touchdowns and no interceptions. In the championship game, he went 22-of-33, with three TDs.
According to the Baltimore Sun , the Ravens wanted to lock up Flacco for the long term:
“Flacco, whose rookie contract expired following this season, was eligible for free agency, but the Ravens were determined not to let him hit the open market.”
In the 2012 regular season, Joe Flacco threw 22 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Over his entire five-year NFL career, he has thrown for nearly 18,000 yards, with 102 TDs and 52 picks. He has won a record six NFL playoff games on the road.
As great as Flacco’s playoff run was, over the off season hopefully he will brush up on the NFL rules. With four seconds left in Super Bowl 47 and the Ravens clinging to the lead, he encouraged his teammates to illegally leave the sidelines and tackle 49ers return specialist Ted Ginn, Jr. if Ginn managed to break free and head to the end zone (see video below). Under the league’s rulebook, the referees could have awarded San Francisco a touchdown and thus the Super Bowl title in that scenario for what’s called a “palpably unfair act.”
Do you think that Joe Flacco is the best quarterback in the NFL?