Poor Ravens

Given their recent levels of success, I really doubt the Giants and Patriots would sell their souls to the devil in this manner, another ring in exchange for several years of mediocrity.

Plenty would, though. Plenty have already tried the approach and failed.

Didn't Brady just take a pay cut so the Patriots could retain other key players?

More money guaranteed at a lower per year, right?  IMO, and most sports fans, the smart move in a sport with a cap like football would be to take a slight pay cut (or spread out the years for lower annual) and give the team flexibility to get better players around you.  Pats could feasibly sign Welker and Talib/Reed and be good with the cap.  If that happens, well then, thank you Tom.

Which is pretty much the opposite of the Ravens and Flacco. Talk out of New Orleans has Drew Brees considering a similar move (even with a brand-new contract).

The Ravens did what they had to do.  The good news for Baltimore fans is that there's a lot of un-guaranteed money in the $120.6 million contract.  

It won't be a pretty season in Baltimore next year.  Tough schedule, changing personnel...but they had to sign Flacco.

His post-season performance had to be one of the most lucrative ever...in any sport.  can anybody think of an athlete who made this much money due to an amazing post-season?  I can't. 

Carlos Beltran in the 04 post-season for the Astros.  He was there on a rental I believe and ended up banking after hitting something like .450 for 2 series.  Mets signed him to 7 years and $100M+ (I forget the number) and he hit above .300 maybe once.

Flacco's cap number for 2013 is only $6.8 million.  I don't think his cap number will get above $15 million until year 4, when it ballons to $29 million and will likely mean it's time to restructure.

So in a way, this contract isn't as crippling as people think.  Flacco did give Baltimore cap room, but at the expense of huge up front and guaranteed money in the first 3 years.  I'm sure the Baltimore franchise isn't worried about the actual money...all NFL franchises are extremely profitable.  If there was no salary cap, some teams would pay their rosters over $500 million and still turn a profit.

I still don't think Flacco deserves that kind of money...but hey...if you can afford it, and you can make it work with the cap...then why not?

Every player in the NFL asks for more money than they are worth.  It's just the nature of a league without guaranteed contracts and common career ending injuries.

If a players agent is only going to ask for more money just because Flacco got paid...then they need to find a new agent. 

I am not sure if this is 100% true or not. The position of QB is and always will be the highest paid position in the NFL. These guys are professionals and know that a large part of this is business and not personal. Don't you think that the same thing might have happened in the locker room of GB, Patriots, NO, etc when their starting QB's got big pay days?? Salary Cap casualities happen every year to every team, its just the nature of the business. The way Flacco's contract is structured limits the cap hit in the first few years so they can attempt to retain more players. Some of the free agents they are trying to keep will probably leave for more $$ elsewhere because that is the business side of the NFL and that is what is best for them and their families and has nothing to do with 1 players contract. The loss of Matt Birk and Ray Lewis freed up over 12 million (I believe) in cap room for this year which should allow them to re-structure deals with Boldin and Ellerbee. Most of the players in the locker room are happy for Flacco, just look at some of the Tweets that have been thrown out there since he got his contract. I really don't think it will cause as much damage or resentment in the locker room as many people think. Afterall, this is business and it happens with every team. Most guys in teh locker room have been around the league long enough to know that. 

Agreed.

This isn't anything new.  Before the rookie salary cap, you had top 5-10 picks in the draft making more money than veteran pro bowlers.  While this may have caused a bit of resentment, it's harldy anything that will tear a team apart or cause an increase in hold outs.  The reason they did away with it is because players were getting huge contracts with no NFL experience.  At least Flacco "earned" (I know...it's still a bit laughable) his contract through his play on the field during NFL regular season and playoff games, and not simply based on being a college prospect.

Anytime a player demands more money, he has to face the reality of who has the leverage.  The player or the team.  Flacco knew that he had most of the leverage because there are teams that need a QB badly, and the Ravens have no suitable backup.  Not every position player can say that.  And just look at Alex Smith.  He had 1.5 solid years at SF...what do you think KC would tell him if he wanted to hold out for a $60 million contract extension?  They just opened up the wallet to pay Bowe...so do you think Smith is going to suddenly say..."where's mine?"

The Ravens can let Flacco go in three years but they won't. In 3-4 years it will come down to them re-structuring his contract and probably extending him so he makes less money a year but still stays on the team and gets guarenteed money which will limit the cap hit again (look at Brady this year). By doing that, it will not limit the teams ability to sign other top players. Looking at the Ravens team now, they have full confidence in Ozzie Newsome to draft great players and develop those young players which will maintain a solid core (5 straight playoff appearences, 10 years straight in top 10 defense). Not every player needs a 10 million dollar contract to be productive on the field. As for your disdain about Joe Flacco, your view of average production and the Owner/GM's view are very different. In Baltimore, he is the most reliable QB the franchise has ever had. He will be around here for a long time and will continue to win. In 5 seasons, he has a SB ring and the same amount of playoff wins as the great Peyton Manning, the only QB in NFL history to go to the playoffs every year they have been in the league and win a game and has the most road playoff wins of any QB. So as an owner whose "average Joe" just won his team and city a SB ring and probably alot more money in merchandise, advertising, etc; he has no problem shelling out the cash and wouldnt do so if it would be a detriment to his teams success in the future.

Right...and then you could become known as the franchise that doesn't pay their players...hence nobody wants to play for you.  They rather play for the teams willing to open up the wallet. 

Flacco's cap number for the next 3 years is much lower than the top 5 QBs...right about where he should be.  This allows Baltimore to sign other top players.

If you think that Baltimore is somehow going to suffer because they overpaid about $20 million in real dollars...then I think you vastly underestimate how profitable NFL teams are.  Interesting article from Forbes

http://www.forbes.com/sites/kurtbadenhausen/2011/12/14/the-nfl-signs-tv-deals-worth-26-billion/

It's not profitability that is a big deal, it's salary cap. 

Which is exactly my point.  Flacco's cap number for the first 3 years is managagble.  Then will need to be restructured.  I was making a point against the bolded above.