Ravens offensive player rejected Commanders' offer that was $4+ million more

According to a report by Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer, Baltimore Ravens tackle Ronnie Stanley could have gotten more money to join the Washington Commanders.

Sep 5, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Baltimore Ravens offensive tackle Ronnie Stanley (79) on field prior to a game against the Kansas City Chiefs at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images / Denny Medley-Imagn Images

It is rare these days for star players to stay on one team for the entirety of their career, which is part of what causes so much excitement when we start hearing the Washington Commanders not only have resources but want to be aggressive in free agency.

Just like that, all of the NFL's biggest names start dancing around football dreams and visions of the Commanders bringing in top-shelf talent like offensive tackle Ronnie Stanley start coming into focus. Until they don't.

Stanley decided to stay with the Baltimore Ravens, the team that drafted him in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft when he was coming out of Notre Dame, in lieu of signing with several teams that were prepared to offer him more money, including Washington.

Baltimore Ravens offensive tackle Ronnie Stanley. / Denny Medley-Imagn Images

"As long as Baltimore was going to put something compelling in front of him, (Stanley) was going to stay," Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer recently shared in an interview shared on social media. That compelling deal that the tackle took was a $60 million contract guaranteeing him $44 million over the course of the next three years with a $20.245 million signing bonus. Less, in total, than the Commanders were willing to pay him.

"Kansas City was right there with them. So Kansas City and Baltimore were both at about 20 (million per year), Washington and New England were both over 24 (million per year)," Breer added.

None of those teams ever got the chance to officially offer Stanley their offers, but agents have a way of knowing what their clients are going to be offered before the official calls come in. That's what they get paid for, after all.

Like it or not, money runs a lot of things in our world, and security is principle among them. For a player like Stanley, who has earned over $100 million in his NFL career, freedom to accept a little less money–relatively speaking–to remain with the franchise he's accustomed to and has become a legend within is what its all about.

His new deal will take the tackle into his 32-year-old season at a minimum, and left teams like the Commanders left to pursue other options, like trading for Pro Bowl tackle Laremy Tunsil.

The Chiefs pivoted to Jaylon Moore, and the Patriots–well–they went with veteran right tackle Morgan Moses and are still looking for a new left tackle.

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