NFL Quarterback Salaries: Can Star QB's Salary Kill Team?

Joe Flacco #5 of the Baltimore Ravens looks on from the field during a power outage while playing against the San Francisco 49ers during Super Bowl XLVII at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on February 3, 2013 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

By Jack Bechta, National Football Post

Those teams that have a 20 million dollar a year QB must have a plan to develop young and cheap talent.

Once the new CBA was inked in July of 2011, I predicted that QB’s would eat up even larger percentages of the cap, and the gap between the stars and rank and file would grow further apart. Joe Flacco’s new deal, on average going forward, will account for about 15% or more of the Ravens cap. Remember that there are 53 men on the rosters not counting inured reserved that are dividing up $123 million this year.

If Joe Flacco is worth 20 million dollars a year then what is Aaron Rodgers, Eli Manning, Andrew Luck, Russell Wilson, Tony Romo, and RG III worth? Does Aaron Rodgers have the right to now demand 25 million dollars per year with 50% or more of his contract guaranteed? Of course he does! Is he worth it? Of course he is! Will he get it? ABSOLUTELY! The fact of the matter is that the QB’s take, as a percentage of the cap will continue to escalate at a rapid pace. QB’s are getting harder to find and develop. As the game speeds up, coupled with the “win now” mentality, which has no patience to develop young QB’s, the ones who excel and win will be coveted and paid handsomely. Do not be surprised if we see 4 or 5 QB’s being paid 25 million per year within the next 24 months.

So what does this all mean for building and balancing a roster? For starters, look at Tom Brady’s latest contract move. He restructured his deal to be more cap and cash friendly to the Patriots so they can keep and acquire much needed talent to stay competitive (i.e. Wes Welker). However, Tom is in a unique position to restructure his deal. If he can win another super bowl before he retires he would get exponentially more than what he gave back to the Pats. Not to mention his wife is probably bringing in a few bucks as well. Tom’s attitude towards his teams cap situation is unique and don’t bet on other QB’s following suit. Players and their agents, me included, will try to get as much as we can for our clients and not worry about the rest of the roster.

It is likely that over the next few years, the top ten QB’s and their salaries will account for 20% or more of their teams cap and cash. So, will we have teams that have a great QB surrounded by a bunch of average players? Yes, there will be some. Will the Ravens be able to afford their best players going forward? Probably not, there’s too many of them. However, they will rely on their coaches to develop players and their scouts to find cheap talent. There will be more pressure on teams who pay their QB the lion’s share of the cap to develop undrafted players. The conundrum here that exists for coaches is that the new CBA took away their ability to coach players up on the field in the off-season. Now pre-season and camp is the only time to really develop young players. Superior coaching staffs that actually “teach” will manufacture winning seasons with average talent.

The main reason why John Harbaugh outbid seven other teams to hire Juan Castillo as his run game coordinator (overseeing the O-line) is to develop cheap lineman into serviceable players. We all know Juan will develop late round picks and undrafted free agents. That’s been his identity! The Eagles only drafted two 1st round linemen the 13 years he was the head O-line coach. Bubba Miller, Hank Fraley, Artist Hicks, Nick Cole, and Austin Howard were all undrafted free agents who he developed into solid starters. During 12 of those 13 years, the Eagles never had a drafted center and averaged two college free agents as starters in each year. The year the Eagles went to the Super Bowl they played with two undrafted free agents on the line. When C Hank Fraley was up for a new contract they let him go to the Browns via free agency and just developed another guy. Expect Joe Banner to put the same formula in place if he gets a QB he covets and an O-line coach he trusts to develop young players.

So what does all this mean? This formula saved the team from having to pay and/or draft top lineman so they can put the money elsewhere. So I would suspect as long as the Ravens have Juan Castillo they will not be drafting any lineman in the top three rounds for the foreseeable future.

As the QB numbers go up the positions that will suffer financially the most will be linebacker, fullback, running back, receiver and safety. Left tackles will still get paid but centers and guards will be developed from late round and/or undrafted college free agents. For those teams who have a 25 million dollar a year QB, they better have a plan on how they are going to scout, draft, pay and develop young cheap players.

Follow me on Twitter: @Jackbechta

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Joe Flacco, Ravens Quarterback, Trying To Add Super Bowl To Resume

OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) — Maybe it's going to take a trip to the Super Bowl to convince those outside the Baltimore Ravens' locker room that Joe Flacco is an elite NFL quarterback.

Flacco is the only starting quarterback in NFL history to reach the postseason in each of his first five seasons. His 61 victories (including the postseason) are more than any NFL quarterback since the start of the 2008 season.

Flacco has won five road playoff games in his career, tied with Eli Manning for the most in NFL history. Joe Montana didn't do it. Neither did Brett Favre, Steve Young, Troy Aikman or Peyton Manning.

Each of those greats, however, owns a Super Bowl ring. So does Tom Brady, who will lead the New England Patriots (13-4) in Sunday's AFC championship rematch against the Ravens (12-6).

Flacco's teammates don't care about how his resume stacks up against the other greats in the game.

"That's a question you guys have got to answer," wide receiver Anquan Boldin told reporters this week. "He already has our respect."

Flacco's 7-4 record in the postseason speaks loudly about his ability to excel in big games. The former first-round draft pick out of Delaware outplayed Peyton Manning last weekend, throwing for 331 yards — including a 70-yard strike to Jacoby Jones in the closing seconds of regulation to force overtime in a game the Ravens ultimately won 38-35.

The touchdown pass to Jones might have thrust Flacco into the discussion about whether he can stand among the elite.

"You go out there and you play to win the football game and some of the things that have been required to win these football games have maybe been a little bit over the top and a little abnormal," Flacco said. "I would like to think that I go out there and play consistently and approach everything the same way. I think that's been proved out. We win a lot of football games around here, and this is actually the third time I'm standing up here getting ready to play in an AFC championship game.

"It's pretty crazy when you think about it."

The guy is good. So far, not quite good enough to take his team to the Super Bowl. But he's taken the Ravens to the brink, and hasn't missed a start since earning the job as a rookie in training camp.

"We love Joe, have for a long time," center Matt Birk said. "You're always going to have naysayers out there, but we're not concerned about that. The great thing about Joe is, neither is he. Joe is very comfortable with who he is and the type of player he is. That's a great trait for a leader to have, especially a quarterback in the NFL."

He's got another great trait for a quarterback: The ability to throw the deep ball. Few have done it as well this season as Flacco, who has completed 46 passes of 25 yards or longer, including TD throws of 70, 59 and 32 yards last week in Denver.

Asked to describe Flacco's deep ball, Jones replied, "It's like a Starburst. It's just juicy, man. It's good. It's like candy. Everybody likes candy."

On the Ravens, it seems like everyone likes Joe.

"I've never played with a guy with that much talent; I'm talking about physically," Boldin said. "I think Joe is able to make any throw on the field. Big-time throws, the deep ball, he does it all."

Flacco is known among his teammates as Joe Cool because of his calm demeanor in the huddle and the pocket.

"He doesn't flinch in any situation," wide receiver Torrey Smith said. "That's what we like about him. He's the same, whether we're doing well or bad, and you can trust a guy like that."

When it's time for business, Flacco doesn't panic. Against Denver, he moved the Ravens 77 yards in 38 seconds with the game on the line.

"You all might think we're lying about it, but I'm being so serious when I say that when we went to the huddle, no one doubted for a second that we (were) going to score," Smith said. "Did we think it was going to be a 70-yard bomb? No. But no one panicked. It was just so calm in the huddle. It was like, 'All right. Let's go do it.' And we got it done."

Recalling the drive, Flacco said, "There's no need to get all worked up over stuff like that when you know you have put all of your time, all of your effort into going out there and having fun and winning the football game. There's no need to blow it out of proportion and get overwhelmed by that kind of thing. I think when you have that mindset, it is easy to go out there and stay calm and play in that moment."

Flacco earned the Patriots' respect in last year's title game when he outplayed Brady and nearly pulled off an upset. Earlier this season, Flacco threw for 382 yards and three scores in Baltimore's 31-30 win over New England.

"He's tough to bring down, he stands in the pocket, he takes a hit, he gets up. That's a tough football player," Patriots tackle Vince Wilfork said. "When you have a quarterback like that, that's special."

Flacco's rookie contract expires after this season. Regardless of what happens Sunday — and whether he gets a long-term deal or receives Baltimore's franchise tag — he is due for a big payday in the months ahead. But Flacco has more pressing issues in mind this week.

"I'm sure it's back there somewhere, but it's not something I've really thought about or really considered," he said.

Ravens coach John Harbaugh has made his position clear: Pay the man.

"He is one of the toughest quarterbacks I have ever been around," Harbaugh said. "He's the best quarterback I've ever been around."

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AP Sports Writer Howard Fendrich contributed to this report.

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