Joe Flacco's 2016 cap hit is huge, but he sounds willing to restructure
Joe Flacco has a gigantic cap hit in 2016. Will he be willing to restructure his deal?
By
John Breech
•
2 min read
When the Ravens signed Joe Flacco to a six-year extension in March 2013, the team saved some serious money on the salary cap that year by backloading his $120.6 million deal.
During the first three years of the contract (2013-15), Flacco never had a cap hit over $15 million. Unfortunately for Baltimore, that's going to change in 2016. Unless the two sides restructure the deal, Flacco's cap hit in 2016 is expected to be a whopping $28.55 million.
As of right now, that's scheduled to be the third-largest cap hit in the NFL next season, behind only Drew Brees ($30 million) and Ndamukong Suh ($28.6 million).
If the cash-strapped Ravens are going to free up some money, it's probably going to have to come from Flacco.
So is the quarterback willing to restructure?
"Come on, I want to win," Flacco told WBAL-AM on Thursday, via the Ravens official website. "So I want to do everything we can to get something done."
Although Flacco seems open to the idea of restructuring, he said he hasn't talked with the Ravens about it.
"I don't know exactly what that is, or exactly what that's going to be, because we haven't talked about it yet," Flacco said. "But I know that is a huge number and it's not really realistic. I'm open to doing something. I mean, I want to be here for a while. I want to play football here. That's what it's all about."
Flacco is well aware of the economic decisions that go behind putting together a winning NFL team.
"In this league, everyone is going to have a quarterback or somebody on their team that is getting paid this kind of money, and it's going to become an issue at some point and they're going to have to do something about it," Flacco said.
Flacco has a scheduled cap hit of $31.15 million in 2017, so the Ravens would likely want to take care of that so they're not stuck in the same situation next year. Baltimore could potentially add two or three years to Flacco's deal to lessen the cap hit each year.
If the Ravens are going to work something out with Flacco, they're probably going to need to do it before free agency begins March 9. The Ravens will want to know what kind of budget they have to work with before they start wheeling and dealing with potential free agents.
As for Flacco, his contract isn't his only concern this offseason. The Ravens quarterback also has to worry about rehabbing from an ACL injury he suffered in November.
"I'm coming along great," Flacco said of rehab. "I don't think there is any way I'm not going out there ready to go right away. Don't quote me. But that's just me. I have no timetable. I'm really taking it day by day and getting better and better each week."
