Flacco Restructure in just a few months

**Mark** · 10-13-2015, 08:54 PM

Ravor and Board,
1. Is Flacco's value to Ravens changed by what may be some rebuilding? What is his value with higher salary caps?
2. Should we assume that Joe wants to stay ?
3. How long do we extend him and do we really want a possible huge dead money hit when Joe hits his mid 30's?
4. Will Joe have Linta apply maximum leverage?
5. If Linta applies maximum leverage, would we really keep Joe for 2016 and take the huge cap hit ?

**The Excellector** · 10-14-2015, 05:36 AM

The team has already seen his max value, when he won the Super Bowl, with an interim OC, about three linemen that aren't in the league anymore, Torrey Smith and Jacoby Jones as his deep threats, and with Boldin and Pitta as his only reliable options, and that was only for four games in Boldin's case.
It's hard to say if we should assume that. Joe has been involved with a lot of winning and a stable organization. However, a fanbase that took years to truly embrace him and a front office that has made his job all the more difficult with their philosophy. On the open market, what if he sees a team that will build around him more or who has better weaponry already in place?
You extend him as long as possible
Yes, Linta will apply leverage, wanting to win the way the Ravens do does not help Flacco's leverage. Now he has plenty.
Good question, guess it would depend on #4.

**GOTA** · 10-14-2015, 06:20 AM

Flacco has 3 more seasons for $58.6 million after this 2015 on that contract. That gets him to 33. What I imagine they do after the season is come up with a deal that extends it out 3 more years. The fight will be how much of the existing money they can convert to bonus vs. how much new money Joe will want. The Patriots showed with Tom Brady that you can structure a deal like this for an older player that is good to both if the team is willing to guarantee a of the contract and the player is willing to take a smaller overall number

If the Ravens guarantee 70% then Joe should be willing to take a smaller number knowing that he'll see that money when he's 35 and 36 instead of getting cut.

**srobert96** · 10-14-2015, 09:35 AM

Flacco is even more valuable to the franchise now. He is the only thing keeping them competitive. This year they have no defense and poor running game yet could very well have been 5-0.
Team has no choice but to keep Joe in 2016. Look at St. Louis and their struggles. They loaded up on draft picks and actually have a very good defense. They are not successful because they have not been able to get it right at the QB position.

I often wonder if Joe would rather go play for an organization that values the passing attack. I am sure he is smart enough to realize that he is playing in a stable organization that competes more often than not. He is a family man and I am sure he would prefer to not have to move his family. Baltimore is also not too far from where he grew up.

The hope is that Joe realizes that the more money he squeezes out of the contract the harder it is to put a competitive team around him. After this year Joe will have been paid 47.5m over the last three years. The going rate is a 4 year 84m dollar extension. That is what Eli and Rivers just negotiated.

**Gabe** · 10-14-2015, 09:42 AM

This presupposes that Joe is willing to renegotiate. What if he pulls a Ngata? What then?

**GOTA** · 10-14-2015, 10:14 AM

Originally Posted by Gabe

This presupposes that Joe is willing to renegotiate. What if he pulls a Ngata? What then?

Different situation. Ngata didn't want to take less. No one is going to ask Joe to take less. In fact he's going to end up getting more and it will be QB money which is huge. When they signed this deal both sides new this was coming. That's why they put such a huge number up for year 4. It forces a new deal

**JAB1985** · 10-14-2015, 10:24 AM

Originally Posted by GOTA

Different situation. Ngata didn't want to take less. No one is going to ask Joe to take less. In fact he's going to end up getting more and it will be QB money which is huge. When they signed this deal both sides new this was coming. That's why they put such a huge number up for year 4. It forces a new deal

correction... he wasnt willing to take what the Ravens were offering. We have no idea the parameters of what that entailed.

**camdenyard** · 10-14-2015, 10:24 AM

I really am starting to wonder about #2. Only he knows, but with the garbage WRs Ozzie gives him I wonder if he's just getting tired of it.

**Ravenstatsman** · 10-14-2015, 10:51 AM

Originally Posted by camdenyard

I really am starting to wonder about #2. Only he knows, but with the garbage WRs Ozzie gives him I wonder if he's just getting tired of it.

Then the Ravens can draft a QB with their 1st round pick.

**kronusthebonus** · 10-14-2015, 11:18 AM

Originally Posted by Ravenstatsman

Then the Ravens can draft a QB with their 1st round pick.

Which we all know can be a crap shoot.

**bensmotorcyclehelmt** · 10-14-2015, 11:32 AM

Originally Posted by Gabe

This presupposes that Joe is willing to renegotiate. What if he pulls a Ngata? What then?

Only 24% of Flacco's contract is guaranteed. I believe the large salary numbers (with no guarantees) also makes Flacco more likely to want to re-negiatiate in those out years to convert the non-guaranteed money into "right now" signing bonus money.

**Spider Webb** · 10-14-2015, 11:41 AM

If I'm Joe there is no fucking way I restructure my deal. After winning the Super Bowl his agent negotiated and structured a contract in way that the Ravens had 3 years to maximize the deal. We signed him to a 3 year 36 million dollar deal and what did we do:

1. Cut Boldin so that we could sign the great Michael Huff and Anthony Spencer
2. Draft defense out the ass
3. Put him behind the worst OL in 2013
4. Provide him with no weapons

Fuck that. I'm not restructuring my contract if I'm Joe. This is a business and right now it looks like without him we'd be a 2-4 win team.