Ravens Set to Earn Some Money With a Big Super Bowl

Jan 20, 2013; Foxboro, MA, USA; Baltimore Ravens inside linebacker Dannell Ellerbe (59) celebrates with teammates after intercepting a New England Patriots pass during the fourth quarter of the AFC championship game at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

Can You hear that? That is the sound of every GM in football evaluating the Ravens upcoming free agents during the Superbowl.

Playerw who have big games in the Superbowl don’t always get big deals, but they do quite often. Al Davis was notorious for evaluating heavily during the Superbowl and signing guys to contracts that were way to big based on one game. He signed three straight Superbowl MVPs during the 90s and all three of them busted out, but they got paid first.

All that is just to say that a huge Superbowl performance just raises the market value for a player(be it a little or a lot). With that in mind, here are a few guys who can drive their value up on Sunday.

1. Paul Kruger- Kruger is a pass rusher pure and simple. He also plays well against the run but he is a pass rusher first and foremost. let me let you guys in on a secret. PASS RUSHERS GET PAID. period. if Kruger turns in a 2 sack game and gets constant pressure in route to a Superbowl win, he will get paid. whether that is with the Ravens or with some other team is yet to be decided.

2. Dannell Elerbe- Ellerbe is in for a payday either way. He just has a chance to raise his value by increasing his leverage. I suspect Elerbe will be a Ravens one way or another unless some team gives him a stupid high offer, but the amount of money he makes playing for the Ravens is still to be determined. He can give himself some bargaining fuel this weekend.

3. Cary Williams- Williams has been hated on by Ravens fans all season(and last season). Cary Williams is a good football player though. He probably shouldn’t be any teams no.1 corner, but he is a solid number 2 guy and he has made some money this year. the Ravens offered him 3 years 15 million last year, right now I think he is worth about 17-20 million over the same stretch. with a big Superbowl he could raise that number as high as about 21-22 million.