The Facts: Following up on the ongoing story. ... The Ravens are facing a March 4 NFL deadline to make Flacco their franchise player to avoid him becoming an unrestricted free agent. They are debating between whether to use a non-exclusive franchise tender of $14.6 million or an exclusive tender of roughly $20 million.
Diehards Line:According to Sun beat writer Aaron Wilson, the Ravens remain firm in their belief that they were on the verge of hammering out a deal with Flacco last August before hitting an impasse in contract negotiations with his agent. Owner Steve Bisciotti said the team offered Flacco top-five quarterback money without disclosing figures. If that's the case, it would have paid him in the range of $16 million to $20 million annually based on other quarterbacks' compensation levels. Flacco's agent, Joe Linta, has made it clear he thinks Flacco should be the highest-paid quarterback in the NFL. That would involve exceeding Drew Brees' $20 million average per year and Peyton Manning's $18 million average. ... Stay tuned.