[News] Eisenberg: Joe Flacco Entering 'Mini-Contract Year'

[BR News]

Contract negotiations will start up again, and the last that happened, Joe Flacco delivered on the field.

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[Willbacker]

They'll probally extend the contract a year or two and then return to the Bank of Joe every year or two to keep the cap down.Maybe they'll be able to figger out an even cap rate around 20 mil or so a year which would be better than having to renegotiate all the time. Just gotta keep the faith the FO knows what its doing.

[Static]

I'm thinking Joe will reduce his cap hit so we can give him talent and then when he's old we'll give him a 'Kobe Bryant' Contract or similar to Big Ben's current contract. Which will give him huge $$$ on his way into the Hall of Fame

[reed20fence]

If we can flatten out the yearly hit instead of backloading the deal it'd be nice. They basically agreed on a 3 year ~47mm contract cuz everyone in the room knew that barring any major disaster, 3 years were guaranteed. Hence Linta's smart insistence on guaranteed money against injury.

He's still got 11.8mm that needs to be spread out in an extension from the last signing (not optional) bonus. That means we could lop on a decent bonus to extend til 2020 or 2021, provide a respectable salary that'll keep him hovering around that 20mm annual figure, and flatten the deal out until he's 35-36 and re-assessing how long he wants to stay in the league cuz not all QBs necessarily want to play into their late 30s.

20mm flat a year against the cap would bring his annual chunk of the cap down to 13-14% from 20%. The saved 6 or 7% translates to 10.5mm per year with which to ensure Joe has a solid supporting cast for the rest of his career.

Fair, equitable, considerate deal all around.

Edited June 6, 2015 by reed20fence

[Tdot.to.Bmore]

If he wins us a Superbowl this year, i have no problems if he demands to keep his contract as is.

[bigcatfrank1]

Joe will work with the team, its all about how they work the cap hit for the next 3 years. I see it at about 12 mill, 15 mil and then 18 mil ...with a restructure again in 2018 around the same. I would bet Joe looks at 6 more years (after this year) and then he will probably retire on top. He wins another Super Bowl and the team wont have any problem paying him thats for sure!!

[RRRRRavens]

I like what John E. said about Joe essentially being a business partner with the Ravens. He has more than enough money to be happy for the rest of his life. So his future happiness does not hinge on squeezing a few more millions out of the system. To the extent that he enjoys football and winning I would imagine he is more interested in having a fun and productive season. Remember he is only one of four or five Raven players that have been with the team the last seven years and he came in the same year Harbs did. So he is part of the center of the team and as such is motivated to keep that center as stable and happy as he can. And he will do whatever he can do to keep the ship stable and moving ahead.

[Pharaoh]

I have faith that Flacco and the FO wont have a problem redoing his deal to drop his cap number to $20mil a year with an extinction through 2020. Now if Flacco has a 2012 postseason or better I doubt Flacco budges and I don't blame him.

[rmcjacket23]

Joe will work with the team, its all about how they work the cap hit for the next 3 years. I see it at about 12 mill, 15 mil and then 18 mil ...with a restructure again in 2018 around the same. I would bet Joe looks at 6 more years (after this year) and then he will probably retire on top. He wins another Super Bowl and the team wont have any problem paying him thats for sure!!

I don't see that happening, mostly because its not in either parties best interest to do that.

 

I think people need to start preparing themselves to be looking at cap hits around the $20M range for Joe for the foreseeable future, and I think its in both parties best interest for that to happen. Playing this same routine with small cap hits early and much larger cap hits later is unsustainable, no matter how many times you restructure or extend, because eventually the contract will come to an end, whether its through retirement or a trade/release. And when that happens, all of those large bonuses you gave that helped push the cap hits down early come due, and you're looking at large amounts of dead money.

 

The reality is there's still just under $26M in prorated signing bonus cap hit that is going to rollover into Joe's next deal, regardless of how they structure it. That can't go away, regardless of what the Ravens or Joe agree to. $10.55M of that is going to be accounted in 2016, again regardless of whatever extension the teams agree to. So $10.55M is the absolute minimum cap hit he would have in 2016. Realistically, you're probably looking at $15-16M being the lowest possible cap hit that he's going to have in 2016, and I think it will be closer to the $18-20M range if the Ravens choose to "flatten" out his cap hit over whatever the contract terms are, which would be smart on their part. 

 

Obviously, barring some surprise decision by Joe to take a massive hometown discount (which is incredibly unlikely and shouldn't be expected), he's still going to be playing at about $20M a season on average in terms of annual salary. So that means, one way or another, his cap hits are going to average out around that over time.

 

Ironically, I actually thought Cam Newton's deal was a pretty good benchmark for how to structure a big deal like that. Has a relatively low cap hit in year 1, but from years 2-6, his cap hits are consistently in the $19-23M range, which I think is very smart. Allows the team to budget and set their roster based on a cap hit that won't fluctuate that much, meaning there are no surprises and they don't have to cut a bunch of players to account for a $8-10M spike in cap impact.

 

In short, I don't think people should be expecting these $6-15M cap hits they've been seeing the last couple years. I think teams and in particular this team realize that's not a great contract structure for the franchise, and its better to spread it out more evenly.

[RavenManiac#7]

What the heck! Why doesn't Bisciotti just offer Joe 49% ownership of the franchise in exchange for Joe just donating his services as a QB? We pay him no salary that way and nothing goes towards our cap because he's just donating us his time and talents. Just tell the Player's Association, "Ah, Nunya"!

[RavenManiac#7]

Forgot to put the LOL in at the end of that last post. Surely everybody knows I was just kidding!

[rmcjacket23]

One thing I think people are misunderstanding...

 

Just because Joe's cap hit next year is like $28M doesn't mean he's actually making $28M... he's not, and in fact, he's not making really close to that. Remember, what the cap hit is and what the player is making are two completely different things.

 

Here's the cap hits for Joe for his 6 year deal (Raven's perspective):

 

2013: $6.8M

2014: $14.8M

2015: $14.55M

2016: $28.55M

2017: $31.15M

2018: $24.75M

 

And here's the actual amount of money that Joe makes in each season (Joe's perspective):

 

2013: $30M

2014: $21M

2015: $11M

2016: $18M

2017: $20.6M

2018: $20M

 

So, in reality, Joe has made $51M in the last two seasons ($25.5M per season average), and will only make $29M over the next two seasons ($14.5M per season average). So, Joe has plenty of incentive to redo his deal next season if he wants to, and ESPECIALLY if he has another SB winning season, because he will only be scheduled to make $18M. 

 

He could easily agree to take the base salaries for the next 1-2 seasons (possibly in the ballpark of $30-35M) and convert that into a signing bonus, while extending his contract by another 2-3 seasons and adding a few $20M+ base salaries to it. That way, Joe will actually make $30-35M next season.

 

Joe has plenty of reason to renegotiate, especially coming off a season where he will only make $11M (this season).

[Purpleghost23]

Show me the money show me the money...man i love that movie lol

[stixfix69]

FO has been fair with Joe, and Joe will be fair with the FO....I would love to see it get done sooner than later so we know what we have to work with in signing our upcoming FA....

[JacktheRaven]

I don't agree with the statement, "Joe gambled on himself & won". Joe & his agent didn't like terms of the contract. Happens all the time. Yanda, Tucker, etc. have not signed yet either. They are not gambling on themselves, are they?

[stixfix69]

With his 29 mil signing bonus after this year he will have made approx 65 mil....

[The Mom Gene]

When the season is a huge success this year, it's not going to matter. The Ravens will work out a deal with Joe. Period.

 

They just will.

 

And they will make room for those that they need to keep. Some of the older players may have to settle for going to other teams, like so many other guys have done in the past, if the room is needed. But we all know how Ozzie operates... They will keep who they can. But Joe will be their priority.

[BmoreB]

Good article, truly, but I hope it's the last of its type. Let's enjoy the ride this year and then talk $. We have a SB to win first and the rest will work itself out.

[stixfix69]

Biscotti said it wouldn't be the end of the world, if Flacco didn't want to restructure, but at the same time, Flacco is a team guy and will do whats best for the team.....

[rmcjacket23]

I don't agree with the statement, "Joe gambled on himself & won". Joe & his agent didn't like terms of the contract. Happens all the time. Yanda, Tucker, etc. have not signed yet either. They are not gambling on themselves, are they?

From what I recall, according to Linda, the 2012 dispute over contract terms was basically over $1M a season. It was probably a contract that was significant less than the one he signed in 2013, but the fact that Linta and Joe refused to sign a deal that was probably just $5-6M less on what was certainly a $90M+ contract offer from the Ravens shows that they pretty much did gamble on themselves.

 

There aren't very many players who negotiate with their original team on a monster deal and don't settle somewhere in the middle on a long term deal. 

 

$1M a season is a lot to many players in this league, but it certainly isn't to Joe or any of the other franchise QBs who are paid like one.

 

There is zero doubt in my mind it was a gamble.

[ravens4life86]

A Big article by Eisenberg about nothing! Flacco's contract negotiations will not change...unless he adds another MVP hardware to his resume. Flacco haa accomplished everything playoff wise possibly so adding another Ring doesnt bulster his worth, monetarily. HOF Wise yes... More rings and playoff success helps, but Flacco dropped 4TDs v Brady last playoff and Ravens lost. Which proved Flacco can be great... But you still need a DEFENSE!!! Jimmy was injured.
So the only way Flacco comes out like a bandit, is if he turns in a All Pro MVP type season 40Tds 8INT 4500 YRDS Aaron Rodgers type season.. Proves he can do it 16 games of a regular season aswell

[robbie29]

Biscotti said it wouldn't be the end of the world, if Flacco didn't want to restructure, but at the same time, Flacco is a team guy and will do whats best for the team.....

Flacco is also a family man, and he'll do what's best for his family before anything else. I honestly can't imagine Flacco playing for another team, but at the same time pro football is a business and stranger things have happened...

[stixfix69]

robbie29...Flacco has done what is best for his family, after this year he will have made 65 mil, i don't think he will be hurting, and a extension, in the end will get him more money, with another juicy signing bonus...

[rmcjacket23]

A Big article by Eisenberg about nothing! Flacco's contract negotiations will not change...unless he adds another MVP hardware to his resume. Flacco haa accomplished everything playoff wise possibly so adding another Ring doesnt bulster his worth, monetarily. HOF Wise yes... More rings and playoff success helps, but Flacco dropped 4TDs v Brady last playoff and Ravens lost. Which proved Flacco can be great... But you still need a DEFENSE!!! Jimmy was injured.

So the only way Flacco comes out like a bandit, is if he turns in a All Pro MVP type season 40Tds 8INT 4500 YRDS Aaron Rodgers type season.. Proves he can do it 16 games of a regular season aswell

Would a SB ring change it much? Probably not. But then again, there's plenty of other things that have already happened that have affected the negotiations:

 

1. Joe's last negotiation was in 2013, when the salary cap was $123M. In all likelihood, in 2016, it will be in the $150M range, which means the cap will have increased by at least 20-25%. When the cap increases, overall contract prices increase, particularly at high demand, low supply positions like QB. On that alone, all else being equal, Flacco could easily ask for another $1-2M a season increase in average annual salary, putting him in the $22M a year range. That would be completely justifiable and realistic for both parties, short of Joe having a horrendous season this year.

 

2. The "comps" in the market have changed. A direct comp, like Cam Newton's contract, has emerged. Cam's average annual salary is basically the same as Joe's was three years ago, and Cam got slightly more guaranteed money. If I'm Joe, that's probably a baseline contract I would consider, since he knows his success rate is higher.

 

I do agree that FO's generally don't put as much weight on playoff wins as fans do (for obvious reasons) when it comes to contract terms. We know this because there's about a dozen QBs in this league with very large contracts (most exceeding $15-16M annually) who have very limited or zero postseason success. Teams are certainly willing to pay QBs with limited postseason success top dollar based on their regular season success, but mostly, because they know the risk of not doing so is far too great to even fathom, considering the incredible shortage there is an high quality NFL QBs coming out of college.

[The Mom Gene]

robbie29...Flacco has done what is best for his family, after this year he will have made 65 mil, i don't think he will be hurting, and a extension, in the end will get him more money, with another juicy signing bonus...

Absolutely.

[huntrgathrr]

I would like to think that Joe wants to keep Osemele and Yanda, his health depends on it. That being said, Joe is not a materialistic person and now has more money than he could ever spend. It makes sense that Joe will restructure to give the managers of the team the maximum ability to keep a really good team together.....especially if they have a great year in 2015. We will just have to wait and see. But I'm glad we are dealing with Joe and not some "me first" guy. All the people involved in the negotiations are very smart and well-intentioned. I have great faith that the organization will come out on top as will the players. A win-win is easily possible.

[rmcjacket23]

I would like to think that Joe wants to keep Osemele and Yanda, his health depends on it. That being said, Joe is not a materialistic person and now has more money than he could ever spend. It makes sense that Joe will restructure to give the managers of the team the maximum ability to keep a really good team together.....especially if they have a great year in 2015. We will just have to wait and see. But I'm glad we are dealing with Joe and not some "me first" moron. All the people involved in the negotiations are very smart and well-intentioned. I have great faith that the organization will come out on top as will the players. A win-win is easily possible.

I don't think any player in this league really worries about other players contract situations. Would Joe like to keep Yanda and KO? Probably, but I'm also sure that Joe wouldn't mind having three All-Pro WRs on his team and Adrian Peterson, but that's completely out of his control.

 

Joe could take a $5M paycut per season (which he won't), and that still doesn't even remotely guarantee that we sign both guards. In fact, I'm not even sure it matters, because it just might purely be a situation where the FO doesn't want to commit $15-20M in cap space every season to a couple of guards, especially when this FO has had zero problem drafting and developing interior lineman in the middle rounds of drafts. 

 

There's nothing that says that even if Joe extends his contract and frees up cap space that the Ravens are 100% going to invest that money on their own players. They typically like to, but that doesn't mean they are just going to pay KO and Yanda whatever they want and/or market value contracts just because they have the cap space. They may choose to spend that money elsewhere.

 

We had the cap space to sign Torrey or McPhee. We signed neither. We had the cap space to allow Ngata to stay here and finish his contract. We didn't. We could have, and the FO chose not to, because they didn't see the value in doing so.

 

Joe is going to do the same as just about every other player in NFL history has done at this stage in their careers. He and his agent are going to negotiate a deal that pays Joe what they feel he is worth, and then they will worry about structuring the deal that benefits both parties.

[ALSKAN RAVEN FAN]

I am just happy Oz and his staff are in charge of this. I could not even imagine being a fan of a team with people in charge who dont know what a player is worth. Have you guys seen what some of these players are pulling down money wise? WOW!!! Some of these players that are getting paid some of these big contracts are 1-hit-wonders at best. Over the years we have seen it with Baltimore players who were studs in purple and black but once they moved on and signed their huge contract they are no longer a stud because they dont have the supporting cast around them like they did in Baltimore. Joe's contract will get done and it will be fair for both Joe and the Ravens I just know he is not going any where Joe is going to finish his career  a Raven.

Edited June 6, 2015 by ALSKAN RAVEN FAN

[Rants N Ravens]

I would like to think that Joe wants to keep Osemele and Yanda, his health depends on it. That being said, Joe is not a materialistic person and now has more money than he could ever spend. It makes sense that Joe will restructure to give the managers of the team the maximum ability to keep a really good team together.....especially if they have a great year in 2015. We will just have to wait and see. But I'm glad we are dealing with Joe and not some "me first" guy. All the people involved in the negotiations are very smart and well-intentioned. I have great faith that the organization will come out on top as will the players. A win-win is easily possible.

Awesome post, 2 thumbs WAY up!!

[MTRavensFan]

Flacco is also a family man, and he'll do what's best for his family before anything else. I honestly can't imagine Flacco playing for another team, but at the same time pro football is a business and stranger things have happened...

yeah, but Joe strikes me as one of those guys who knows what's best for his family isn't just about the money.

 

What's best might be not having to move with three little kids (and planning more!), staying close to home and the grandparents in NJ, and in a place that he loves with a job that he loves. Maybe you just couldn't pay him enough to move to, say... Oakland?