Joe Flacco had a fantastic postseason for the Baltimore Ravens, and now he is going to reap the financial rewards.
Flacco is a free agent now that the season is over. He and the Ravens were unable to agree on a contract extension before the season began and decided to table negotiations until after the year. Flacco was believed to be seeking top-five quarterback money a year ago, so his price must be even higher now that he has led Baltimore to a Super Bowl.
Flacco even said after winning the Super Bowl and game MVP honors that he is going to make the Ravens pay.
“(Baltimore Ravens owner) Steve Bisciotti told me that if this happens, I can go pound on his desk and really stick it to him. And I said, ‘that’s exactly what I’m going to do,’” Flacco said on NFL Network’s postgame show.
When host Rich Eisen reiterated that Flacco plans to “stick it to the man,” Flacco said he meant his comments “in a good way.”
“I love him but …” Flacco said of Bisciotti.
Not giving Flacco an extension before the season may have been a good thing for Baltimore. It may have motivated Flacco to prove he is one of the best quarterbacks in the game.
“I haven’t thought about [the contract] all year, but the year’s over now,” Flacco said with a smile, recognizing he’s about to get paid.
Though many people are talking like Flacco will get a huge deal from Baltimore, the team still has the option of using a franchise tag on him if they cannot agree on a long-term deal.
What’s notable about Flacco’s performance this postseason — he threw for 11 touchdowns and no interceptions while going 4-0 — is that his success mirrors Eli Manning’s path. Prior to last season, in response to a question he was asked on the radio, Eli Manning said he felt like he was an elite quarterback. Everyone laughed at his comments, but then he played great in the postseason and his New York Giants beat the New England Patriots to win the Super Bowl. In April, Flacco called himself the best quarterback in football, and then he played like it this postseason and won a Super Bowl.
Though Flacco has shown us that he is one of the better quarterbacks in the league, he has not displayed elite abilities consistently like Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers, Peyton Manning, and Tom Brady. Maybe he had this in him all along, and the real difference is that the Ravens finally allowed him to open up the offense. Flacco’s performance improved dramatically once offensive coordinator Cam Cameron was fired. The Ravens’ offense averaged 344.4 yards per game under Cameron and went 9-4. They were up to 406.2 yards per game and went 1-2 without him the rest of the regular season. But they really blossomed in the postseason getting up to 427 yards per game before the Super Bowl.
Flacco says he wasn’t asked to do much for the Ravens in the past, and that he could have done more. He also agreed with Marshall Faulk, who said there was some role reversal for the Ravens, who in the past were carried by the defense, but were led by the offense this season.
“It’s great to have that on your shoulders and to be able to go out and do it,” Flacco said of the offense carrying the team. “I think that’s the way this team has always been a little bit. We do what we have to do to win the football games. I feel like if our offense had to step up a couple years ago, we probably would have done it. It’s just something we didn’t necessarily have to do. We didn’t have to put 500 yards up. I would’ve liked to, but it just wasn’t what we were doing.”
Between Eli Manning and Joe Flacco, I think we’re finding out that the best strategy for quarterbacks who want to win the big one is to call yourself a great quarterback before the season begins.
