Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan has always served as the face of the franchise and been the leading light for its players since 2008. The 36-year-old will be stepping onto the field for his 15th NFL season in a Falcons jersey but has some special monetary connotations. While being on the verge of entering the top 5 in NFL passing yards, Ryan will be setting an NFL record based on the salary of his current contract.
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The veteran QB will be having a cap number of $48,662,500, the largest salary cap hit for a player in NFL history. The massive jump is a result of the 5-year contract extension he signed in 2018 with the Falcons franchise.
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With 2 years remaining on his current contract, Ryan takes up 23.4% of the Falcons’ salary cap space for 2022.
He also is coming off one of his lowest productive seasons since his first few years in the league. He recorded 3,968 passing yards with 20 TDs while having a 67% completion rate. Ryan has entered the twilight of his career, and the Falcons will be sensing changes quite soon.
Matt Ryan and his contributions to the Atlanta Falcons
He ranks with the eight highest passing yards in NFL history, recording 59,735 passing yards with the Falcons. The veteran QB can surpass recently retired NFL QB Ben Roethlisberger for the 5th spot if he records 4,354 yards in the upcoming season.
The former league MVP ranks 9th all-time in passing TDs with 367 TDs. He requires 33 more TDs for becoming the 8th player to record 400 career TD passes.
The Falcons QB has had a storied career. His historic cap hit will be very damaging to the Falcons and their hopes to contend anytime soon. If the organization releases him, they will only save $8,137,500 in salary cap space. But biding their time until after the 2022 season, then they would save nearly $28 million in cap space.
Falcons QB Matt Ryan is currently scheduled to have a cap hit of $48,662,500 in 2022.
That would be the largest cap hit for any player in NFL history.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) February 24, 2022
A figure that currently appears untouchable will be eclipsed by the NFL players with lucrative extensions on current deals. Modern-day superstar QBs like Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen will lead the line and eventually eclipse Ryan’s extraordinary cap hit numbers.
The modern era of the NFL has an influx of finances that wasn’t there in seasons prior. So cap hits like Matt Ryan’s situation will become far more frequent and common every single year.
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