Ebony Bird
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Joe Flacco: Reworking His Deal Is Not A Punishment

By Chris Schisler

Nov 22, 2015; Baltimore, MD, USA; Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco (5) passes during the fourth quarter against the St. Louis Rams at M&T Bank Stadium. Baltimore Ravens defeated St. Louis Rams 16-13. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 22, 2015; Baltimore, MD, USA; Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco (5) passes during the fourth quarter against the St. Louis Rams at M&T Bank Stadium. Baltimore Ravens defeated St. Louis Rams 16-13. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports /
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Joe Flacco and the Ravens are reworking his contract. ESPN’s Adam Schefter gave his opinion on this matter with Garrett Downing of the Baltimore Ravens official website. Schefter basically dispelled some misperceptions about the situation. It is my turn to give my two cents on Flacco and the Ravens works to free up some 2016 cap space.

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This is life in the NFL. If you have a good quarterback, that quarterback is going to make a lot of money. (Today I am not having the battle on Flacco’s merits. He was a Super Bowl MVP and my arms are exhausted from beating the defending Joe drum. If you don’t get it by now it is hopeless. In reality Flacco is a good quarterback). When your quarterback makes a lot of money the contract must periodically be restructured and or extended. That is just how life in the NFL works.

And with any other highly paid quarterback that would probably be the end of the discussion. With Flacco, the calmest person ever to be such a lightning rod of debate, the conversation never ends. Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers agree on a contract extension and the story goes away quickly. After all it makes sense that it  would happen. It benefited the Steelers and their quarterback. Tom Brady gets an extension or restructures his deal and nobody cares, because they know its coming.

There seems to be the perception that Ozzie Newsome is reworking this deal as some sort of punishment for Flacco. But he isn’t going up to Flacco and saying “Hey Joe, I know we won a Super Bowl and everything but this isn’t working out.” That isn’t what is going on. Flacco isn’t losing money, he is just getting his cap hit to a workable number. The Ravens and Flacco aren’t breaking up, they’re redoing their vows. We can take this metaphor as far as we need to but the point is pretty cut and dry.

The Ravens didn’t get ripped off when they signed Flacco to the original $120.6 million contract. The Ravens winning quarterback got his market value. When people point at Flacco’s performance and his contract they often point out that he hasn’t lived up to his end of the deal. To that I say, in a 2015 season where nothing went right, Flacco was on pace for his best statistical season. Plus the Ravens failures since the Super Bowl cannot be pinned on the contract of one player.

Contracts are based on market value. Joe Flacco is a proven quarterback that you can win with. Therefore his salary is going to be pretty high. Secondly where would the Ravens be without Flacco? Ravens fans should be glad he won the Super Bowl in 2012 and got his contract then. The market for quarterbacks has only gotten steeper in price.

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The Ravens have a quarterback they can win it all with. That is important. Their Super Bowl MVP’s contract is being restructured because both sides want to get it done. Flacco isn’t being punished. Flacco isn’t losing any money and this isn’t the Ravens reevaluation of his worth to the franchise. This is nothing but a routine procedure.

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