Joe Flacco's agent: Tom Brady deal has 'no impact' on Flacco's contract
When Tom Brady and the Patriots agreed to a three-year, $27 million extension on Monday, it freed up a lot of money for New England. It also caused the exclusive franchise-tag number for quarterbacks to drop by nearly a million dollars, creating a ripple effect for Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco.
But Flacco's agent Joe Linta said that Brady's new deal has "no impact whatsoever" on how Flacco's camp and the Ravens will negotiate a new contract.
"There's no impact whatsoever on what we're doing," Linta told Robert Klemko of USA TODAY Sports. "It doesn't matter. It's an extension for cap purposes. And we don't know all the details at this point.
"The bottom line is, whether Brady took a pay cut or took $27 million a year, it wouldn't have an impact on what we're doing. We've determined a number that we think is fair with respect for the Ravens' cap situation."
Linta is right in a number of ways. Brady's deal has nothing to do with Flacco's deal, but it's primarily because Brady's 36 and already has made his money, while Flacco's closing out the final year of his rookie contract.
Additionally, it's not like Brady's new deal makes him a saint, even if it was a team-friendly move on his part.
There's simply no correlation between Flacco's deal and Brady's new deal. Brady makes $12 million a year now over the course of five years and all of it is guaranteed. Brady's is an extension to clear up cap space.
Not that Flacco is going to hijack the Ravens and prohibit them from being able to bring in more talent.
"Joe's not that kind of guy," Linta says. "Joe absolutely wants to work with the Ravens to ensure that they're not impacted cap-wise. Joe doesn't want to see anybody get cut as a result of this deal."
Linta also said that talks between he and the Ravens are "going fine" and that the two sides spent plenty of time discussing the matter at the 2013 NFL Combine.
"Nobody yelled," Linta said. "We're moving forward. This thing could be done in three minutes or three years."
It's a deal both sides would like to get done before March 4, the deadline for teams to use the franchise tag.
