Tom Brady should be commended for taking less but Joe Flacco shouldn't be vilified for taking more.
The Ravens should pack up a truck, load it with gold bullion, ring Flacco's doorbell, and ask him: Where would you like this?
What Brady did is commendable, but that doesn't mean Flacco should do the same. It's perfectly acceptable for Flacco, in this instance, to be absolutely selfish and get paid. It's the American way.
It is basically impossible for a player of Flacco's caliber to get fully paid and help the team. It's almost one or the other and if Flacco chooses to look out for himself, this one time, for his big payday, then he's within his right.
"Tom Brady's contract has no impact on anything we're doing," Flacco's agent, Joe Linta, said in an email to me.
And it shouldn't.
This goes the same for Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers, who could sign a deal soon, making him the highest paid player in football. It went for New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees when he got his $20 million per. It's gone for a million other players across the decades, including in the salary cap era.
Brady's had numerous huge paydays. If he gets paid $30 million over the next few years instead of $60 million, well, he won't starve. He'll be OK.
What Flacco is going to face in the coming days from fans and maybe even the Ravens is how he should take less money, so the team can keep as much of its current roster intact as possible, and also have cap cash to pay potential free agents.
Some may think that is in Flacco's best interest to take less. The more money Baltimore has to spend in retaining current talent and signing free-agent talent, the better it is for Flacco.
This argument has been obliterated repeatedly during the salary cap era. One of the more recent examples was last season when Peyton Manning, earning $18 million -- and scheduled to earn $40 million guaranteed over the next two years -- went 13-3. His salary sucks up cap space the way a black hole does star systems yet the Broncos are, and will be, just fine.
I could argue, quite successfully, the Ravens' Ozzie Newsome is the best general manager in football. He excels at drafting and finding young talent. If Flacco signs a huge deal, he'll keep excelling at drafting and finding young talent.
It's quite simply a lie to say that an organization as great as Baltimore's can't give Flacco his payday due and still win Super Bowls.
So for Flacco there is just one thing to do ... Get. Paid.
2. The report that the Jets refused to meet with the representative of Pro Bowl corner Darrelle Revis is not only accurate, it's also telling. The Jets have very loudly proclaimed the trade rumors about Revis aren't true. Sure. Whatever. But really, if they aren't accurate, then why not meet with Revis' reps and tell them face to face? I can tell you that's the question the Revis camp is asking.
3. From one scout on a team that removed Tyrann Mathieu off its draft board: "He's been honest in interviews, we think, but that's the problem with a guy like that. We just don't know how honest. Can you ever trust him?" Another team that kept Mathieu on its board has him going in the fifth round. That team thinks he'll be more of a special teams force than starting corner.
4. A team executive on Alabama corner Dee Millner: "You could make the argument he's the best player in the upcoming draft."
5. After he was booted out of Cleveland, Mike Holmgren (or his representative) attempted to revive his career in Dallas by leaking the Cowboys' alleged interest in him as an advisor. Now comes leaks Holmgren is speaking with the Raiders for some sort of advisory role. What exactly does Holmgren want? Does he want to use such a role to get back into football or simply do this for ego's sake? Is he addicted to football or having his name in the media? No one outside of Holmgren and people close to him seem to know.
6a. Champ of the week: Manti Te'o. Handled his press conference like a pro. Handled it better than many coaches, players and media members covering it ever would.
6b. Chump of the week: This buffoon.
6c. Tweet of the week: From Ravens wide receiver Torrey Smith -- "If you don't run, jump, lift, or throw at any point while competing, it's not a sport." Michael Phelps disagrees.
7. No matter what you think of Alex Smith on or off the field, he is a tremendous human being.
8. One report suggests that the Patriots are not actively attempting to trade backup quarterback Ryan Mallett. Some of that depends on your definition of "actively." The Patriots aren't putting Mallett trade requests on their Facebook page every hour but they are talking to more than a few teams about him and there is a great deal of intrigue in Mallett.
9. The expectation from some in football is that Steven Jackson will end up in Atlanta. If that does happen, despite the advanced age of Jackson, it would add another explosive element to Atlanta's offense. It would immediately make the Falcons a Super Bowl favorite. Yes, favorite.
10. The possibility of Green Bay using the franchise tag on Greg Jennings continues to increase. Not a definite. But Jennings is telling some players on the team he thinks the team will use the tag.
No comments:
Post a Comment