Joe Flacco’s NFL path has been marked by highs and reinventions. Once a Super Bowl MVP and one of the highest-paid passers, his late-career chapters have shifted focus from glory to experience, including a surprising turn in Cleveland.
With the Browns, he delivered resilience and leadership, but the franchise has turned the page. Rookie Dillon Gabriel has been handed the starting job, leaving the veteran in a supporting role as his career enters yet another evolution.
The financial side of his journey remains just as compelling. From record-setting deals to today’s contracts, his salary and career earnings mirror both the rise and the realities of a quarterback who’s learned to adapt with time.
What is Joe Flacco’s salary with the Cleveland Browns?
Joe Flacco’s deal with the Cleveland Browns is officially a one-year contract worth $4.2 million, according to Spotrac. That sum includes a $1.7 million signing bonus and a base salary of $1.2 million.
Joe Flacco celebrates after defeating the New York Jets in 2023. (Source: Nick Cammett/Getty Images)
The structure layers in incentives: he can pick up a $250,000 roster bonus if he’s on the final regular-season roster, plus a per-game “active” bonus of about $58,823 for each game he suits up. On top of that, he earns additional incentives tied to team wins, playing time thresholds, and other performance metrics.
From a salary-cap lens, the Browns use “void years” to spread parts of the contract over multiple seasons (even though the deal is only for one actual playing year). That gives Cleveland flexibility while still guaranteeing $3 million of the contract up front.
Joe Flacco’s career earnings
Joe Flacco’s overall earnings highlight just how far he’s come since being drafted in 2008. According to Spotrac, his career contracts add up to over $180 million, a sum that puts him among the highest-paid quarterbacks of his generation.
The bulk of that fortune came during his peak years in Baltimore. After leading the Ravens to a Super Bowl XLVII victory, he signed what was then the richest deal in NFL history—a six-year extension in 2013 worth $120.6 million.
Between 2013 and 2018, he collected more than $124 million in cash from the team. Later contracts with Denver, the Jets and now Cleveland didn’t match those astronomical figures, but they cemented his financial legacy.
