The Super Bowl Most Valuable Player is not under contract for next season. Newsome said the sides were “very close” to a deal before the season began, but it was a mutual agreement to stop negotiations until the end of the season.

“I’m coming away today thinking that we can get a deal done,” Newsome said at the “State of the Ravens” season-ending news conference. “We’ve got deals done with Haloti [Ngata], JO [Jonathan Ogden], Ray [Lewis], Ray Rice, Ed Reed, [Terrell] Suggs. I’ve got a very good owner who understands the business and understands the importance of certain positions. So, I’m optimistic.”

If the Ravens can’t get a deal completed before the start of free agency, the team will put the franchise tag on Flacco. The exclusive tag, which would take Flacco off the free-agent market, would take $20 million of cap space this season.

“We’re looking to get a fair deal done with Joe,” Newsome said. “If we’re able to get a deal done, it will allow us to be able to participate more in the market if we so choose. But we understand what the priority is.”
Flacco’s agent, Joe Linta, was asked in an interview with CNBC on Tuesday whether Flacco should be the highest-paid at his position, to which he simply responded, “Yes.”

Flacco, 28, is younger than Peyton Manning (who’s earning $18 million per year) and Drew Brees ($20 million), and now has as many Super Bowl titles as each of them. Linta said those are the numbers that matter.

“When you do a contract of this magnitude, you look at what is the player’s body of work presently,” Linta told CNBC. “And what are the expectations going forward over the next four, five or six years.

“Joe wins on both accounts.”

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Agent Joe Linta, when asked in an interview with CNBC whether Flacco should be the highest-paid quarterback, simply responded, “Yes.”

Flacco, 28, is younger than Peyton Manning ($18 million) and Drew Brees ($20 million), and, as of Sunday, has as many Super Bowl titles as each of them. Linta said those are the numbers that matter.

“When you do a contract of this magnitude, you look at what is the player’s body of work presently,” Linta told CNBC. “And what are the expectations going forward over the next four, five or six years.

“Joe wins on both accounts.”

Flacco passed for 1,140 yards, 11 touchdowns and zero interceptions in the Ravens’ four-game postseason run, which ended Sunday with a 34-31 win against the San Francisco 49ers in the Super Bowl.

Flacco was selected by the Ravens in the first round of the 2008 draft and this season became the only quarterback to win a playoff game in each of his first five seasons.

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Flacco, the MVP of Super Bowl XLVII, is set to become an unrestricted free agent. His new deal is expected to rival those of Peyton Manning and Drew Brees, whose contracts are among the most lucrative in NFL history for quarterbacks.

Flacco’s agent, Joe Linta, said in an interview with CNBC that Flacco should be the NFL’s highest-paid quarterback.

“I think everybody is going to see what Joe [Flacco] ends up signing for,” Rodgers said Tuesday on his weekly radio show on 540 ESPN. “I’m sure they want to lock him up. He’s a great player — had an incredible run in the playoffs — and I’m sure they want to keep him around. A guy like that, with the postseason success he’s had, you want to keep a guy like that around for a while.”

Also a former Super Bowl MVP, Rodgers is under contract through 2014, having signed a six-year, $65 million contract in October 2008. Rodgers’ base salary next season is $9.25 million, while his 2014 deal is worth $10.5 million. Manning ($18 million base salary) and Brees ($20 million base) also are former Super Bowl MVPs.

Rodgers, who didn’t discuss whether he would give the Packers a hometown discount, understands that the market will dictate his next contract.

“It kind of is what it is, as far as that goes. The team, when they’re ready to talk contract, we’ll get there when we get there,” Rodgers said.

Rodgers also is confident that things will work out with the Packers, saying, “When that time comes, we’ll get a deal done. I’m not worried about that. I think the Packers want to keep me around for a little while longer, and I’d love to be a Packer for life.”

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