The five worst quarterback contracts of all-time

Joe Flacco, Baltimore Ravens, 2013

6 years, $120.6 million (2013-2018)

The category that this mistake falls into would probably be “we just won the Super Bowl! Yaaay! Let’s give everyone all of the money!”

That’s not a direct quote from anyone in the Baltimore Ravens front office, but it might as well have been considering the contract they gave Joe Flacco after their Super Bowl run in 2013. Flacco was fresh off a postseason for the ages, an 11-touchdown, zero-interception performance matched only by Joe Montana.

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Not bad, right? Except that was the only time in his career that Flacco had been truly great. But the Ravens evidently thought this would be the norm for Flacco going forward, and gave him a massive deal on par with those of Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees, both of whom are living legends.

That’s not exactly the case for Flacco, who cratered in 2013, throwing 22 interceptions and posting a 46.7 QBR. He was better in 2014, but he hasn’t been close to being worth the money, and his contract will continue to clog up the Ravens’ cap for years.

The real payday hasn’t even started yet: Flacco’s cap hit in 2016 will be $28.6 million, and in 2017 he will destroy the team’s cap to the tune of $31.2 million, making him essentially impossible to trade or release.

And thus the endless arguments about whether or not Flacco is elite continue.

Next: Drew Bledsoe