$120.6 million over 6 years. That's $20.1 million a year. There are few people on this Earth who deserve that kind of money. Joe Flacco is not someone that I would consider worthy of that pay. He is currently the NFL's highest paid player who rode the momentum of the Super Bowl win and MVP right into the negotiation room. While those accolades are nothing to sneeze at, his contract tells me that the NFL, money wise, believes he is the most valuable player in the league. To me, that is ridiculous.
Consider the following quarterbacks: Tony Romo, Eli and Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees, Ben Roethlisberger, Tom Brady, Phillip Rivers. Would you take Flacco over any of those guys to quarterback your favorite team? Well, you should. Romo, though known to choke in the clutch, has put up phenomenal numbers since he became the starter for the Cowboys. He actually has the fifth best QB rating all time in the regular season amongst QBs with at least 2500 regular season pass attempts. Peyton Manning has also won a Super Bowl and MVP, while little brother Eli has doubled him up in both categories. Rodgers also has the Super Bowl win/MVP combo and puts up video game-like numbers. Brees could run for and win mayor in New Orleans after what he did with the Saints following Katrina. He also holds the record for the most passing yards in a single season with 5,476 in 2011 (Flacco's highest yard total was 3,817 this past year). Big Ben has two Super Bowl rings and consistently puts up better numbers than Flacco. Brady is Brady, no explanation needed. Even Rivers should be considered given the amount of yards and touchdowns he has thrown for. He was terrible this year, yet threw for only 211 yards less than Flacco this year.
Those are just the QBs that have accolades to their name. I didn't even include Robert Griffin III, Cam Newton, Andrew Luck, Colin Kaepernick, Russell Wilson, Matthew Stafford, and Matt Ryan, all of whom have a chance to be better and accomplish more than Flacco. The thing that concerns me is that contracts may spiral out of control.
I think it is universally accepted that the best person at their position should get paid the most. Brad Pitt should get paid more than Jonah Hill. David Letterman should get paid more than Craig Ferguson. So what in the world justifies Flacco getting this much money? Nothing, from what I can see. An average regular season quarterback with a Super Bowl win. Congrats. NFL Total QBR is a stat used to measure a quarterback's overall performance. Flacco's highest season rating all time puts him in 63rd place. That is behind the likes of Carson Palmer with Oakland, Jeff Garcia, Alex Smith, Vince Young, and even Chicago's own Jay Cutler. Not exactly a Hall of Fame bunch right there. Looking at single game performances is even worse. Flacco has the sixth worse QBR for a game ever, checking in at 0.3 out of 100. I will repeat that. 0.3 out of 100! He threw for one TD, two interceptions, and averaged 3.4 yards per pass. What's worse? It happened this past year in a business that is predicated on what have you done for me lately. You're telling me we're going to break the bank for this guy?
Since he got his deal, the Ravens, having to clear up financial space, have lost a good number of good players to free agency. Ed Reed left for Houston. Anquan Boldin got traded to my Super Bowl pick for next year, the San Francisco 49ers. Ray Lewis went into retirement. On top of that, they lost two other standout linebackers in Dannell Ellerbe and Paul Kruger who signed with the Dolphins and Browns, respectively. There was nothing they could do about Ray, and it is easy to say that Reed and Boldin were let go because of their age. But Kruger and Ellerbe (both 27)? These are young, talented players that perform on the side of the ball that gave the Ravens an identity, defense. Why give that away for Flacco?
The last thing that puzzles me about this move is the way the team is structured. Remember that Ray Rice guy? Yea, he's on this team too. Not only is he a three time pro bowler, but he is arguably the best pass catching back in the NFL. Make no mistake, he has no problem acting like a traditional back, but the plays he makes on the check downs and screens are his specialty. They also have, in my opinion, the best fullback in the league in Vonta Leach. Leach is also a three time pro bowler who came over from Houston after paving the way for Arian Foster. Now he gets to lead Ray Rice behind a monster of an offensive line. So, why are we passing the ball? All this tells me is that we need to run the ball, and have a QB that can hand a ball off and toss some screens.
Remember the names of those great QBs listed above? Most of them were not blessed with a Pro Bowl running back or fullback to help pave the way. Obviously there are some exceptions with the likes of Tomlinson and Rivers, Peyton Manning and Edgerin James, and Big Ben and Jerome Bettis, but most didn't have one because they didn't need one. You could argue back and forth all day about whether a good receiver makes the QB good or a good QB makes a receiver good. However you see it, management saw the talent in their QBs and realized they had something special and surrounded them with talented receivers, not backs.
Romo has had Dez Bryant, Jason Witten, and T.O. (say what you will, the man put up stats). Eli has had Victor Cruz, Plaxico Burress, and Amani Toomer. Peyton has gone from Marvin Harrison to Reggie Wayne, with some Dwight Clark thrown in for good measure. A-Rod has had Donald Driver and Greg Jennings. Brees has had Antonio Gates, Marques Colston, and Joe Horn. Big Ben has had Santonio Holmes, Hines Ward, and Mike Wallace. Brady has had Wes Welker, Randy Moss, and the Gronk. Rivers, probably the most aided by his running back situation, had Gates and Vincent Jackson. Flacco has, Torrey Smith?
The thing that concerns me is that a lot of people think that athletes are overpaid to start with. I would agree with that statement. Contracts are certainly ballooning out of control. Still, when I see Justin Verlander get his huge deal, I don't have a problem with it. He is arguably the best at his position and certainly top three. He is a five time All Star, has won an AL MVP, Cy Young Award, and pitched two no hitters.
Now, in order to justify being paid more, players will have to outperform the bar that he has set. To be honest, Flacco has set the bar ridiculously low. A-Rod is up to get a long term deal and, given what Flacco got, he should get a fortune. The Super Bowl win and MVPs cancel out. Looking at raw numbers then, it is not even close. Rodgers' numbers tower over Flacco's across the board. The man should get paid. But now, if, or rather when, he gets his deal, a significantly high number would not surprise or upset me. If $120.6 million over 6 years is what you get for Flacco's body of work, then it only stands to reason that a handful of QBs should be paid even more. Do I think they're being overpaid? Yes, of course. There are a lot of people out there that work harder than football players do on a daily basis who will never make that much money in their lifetime, much less over six years. If these teams are willing to shell out this kind of cash though, then you better be willing to pay up when your player performs.
This Flacco contract has started a slippery slope. At what point does the pay become too much? Is there even a such thing as too much? If I have two Super Bowl rings, ten franchise records, and an MVP award, why shouldn't I get paid more than Flacco? This becomes even more precarious when you consider how much of a team game football is. Will it get to the point where you can only afford a top level QB, but surround him with a bunch of bums? I believe that the Ravens will go through these growing pains this year. They will find out that putting all your eggs in one basket, especially the Flacco basket, is not the best idea.
Matty O
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