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Matt Ryan signs five year contract extension for big bucks

Falcons QB Matt Ryan has reportedly agreed to terms on a five year contract extension worth over $100 million. How does this impact Colin Kaepernick?

By David Fucillo
Kevin C. Cox

The Atlanta Falcons reported to training camp yesterday, and as they get their first practices in, the front office took care of some serious business. Thursday afternoon, word leaked out that the Falcons had agreed to terms on a five year contract extension with quarterback Matt Ryan. The deal is reportedly worth $103.75 million, including $59 million in guaranteed money, and $63 million in total cash over the first three years. The guaranteed money is second in QB history to the $60 million Drew Brees got last year.

I bring this up because we all know that Colin Kaepernick will be coming up for a contract after this season. He is signed through 2014, but he is allowed to sign a new deal after this third season. If he does anything remotely similar to what we saw in 2012, it's safe to say Kap will be able to command a sizable second contract.

This has been a busy offseason for QB contracts. In February, Tom Brady agreed to terms on a restructured deal. In early March, Joe Flacco signed his $100M deal. Late April saw Aaron Rodgers cash in with a $110 million deal. And then early this month we saw Matthew Stafford sign a three-year extension to stay in Detroit through at least 2017. Add in Matt Ryan, and the market is quickly being set for young quarterbacks of the future.

SI/ESPN's Andrew Brandt raised an interesting point following the news of Ryan's deal:

Kap will have a year left on his contract after this season, and with a successful season would have a strong season and a half of 26-30 starts under his belt (depending on how the season finishes up). We can't make exact comparisons between all these deals, but we do know it's going to cost the 49ers some serious coin to extend Kap. While there is plenty of talk about his focus on football and just wanting to win games, there is still a contract to be figured out, and business is business.

Maybe we should start up a Kickstarter campaign!

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