Atlanta Falcons: Matt Ryan Could Become NFL’s Highest Paid Quarterback

Following his MVP-winning season, Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan could become the NFL’s highest paid player at the position this offseason.

The Atlanta Falcons enjoyed remarkable success throughout the 2016 season. Though their 11-5 regular season record isn’t overly impressive, how they got there was. Atlanta’s offense was historically productive and great over the course of the season. Offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan is a big reason for that, but so is the 2016 NFL MVP, quarterback Matt Ryan.

Throwing for just shy of 5,000 yards on the season while tossing 38 scores to only seven interceptions, Ryan finally realized the potential he had when he was selected No. 1 overall in 2008. This all came after he was near unanimously dogged following last season’s collapse for the Falcons. And now, the quarterback is set to cash in on his monster season that, at the very least, led his team to Super Bowl 51.

According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, Falcons owner Arthur Blank is ready to pony up in a big way to get Ryan to sign an extension in Atlanta. In fact, Rapoport reports that Blank is prepared to make Ryan the highest-paid quarterback in the NFL if that’s what it takes to get the deal done:

At this point, it feels like a new player is made the league’s highest-paid quarterback every single offseason. However, it’s hard to argue with giving that kind of money to Ryan after the season he had in 2016 and after earning a Super Bowl berth.

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Ryan is 31 years old, which makes him not a young gun in the league at this point in his career. As his Super Bowl 51 counterpart can show you, though, there could still be a lot of great mileage left on the tires for the Falcons quarterback. Regardless, Ryan deservers to be rewarded for his play this season and it seems he most definitely will be.