Raven Country

Ronnie Stanley Admits Helping Ravens With New Deal

The Baltimore Ravens were the only team the two-time Pro Bowl left tackle was willing to take less to play for.

Josh Reed

Jan 20, 2024; Baltimore, MD, USA; Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) celebrates with offensive tackle Ronnie Stanley (79) after scoring a touchdown against the Houston Texans during the third quarter of a 2024 AFC divisional round game at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mitch Stringer-Imagn Images
Jan 20, 2024; Baltimore, MD, USA; Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) celebrates with offensive tackle Ronnie Stanley (79) after scoring a touchdown against the Houston Texans during the third quarter of a 2024 AFC divisional round game at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mitch Stringer-Imagn Images / Mitch Stringer-Imagn Images
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Growing up in Las Vegas, Nevada, a hotbed for future NFL talent, making it to the league was one of the main goals for Baltimore Ravens two-time Pro Bowl left tackle Ronnie Stanley. Spending his entire career with one franchise, however, was not.

After officially re-signing with the team on a three-year deal worth $60 million on Monday, he most likely will end his career where it started.

"That wasn't something I ever thought about," Stanley said Monday during a virtual press conference. "That being said, with it actually happening, I am realizing how rare of a thing it is, and I think it's just a really cool thing to be able to spend 10 years of my career-plus with the same team that I got drafted with."

The Ravens made Stanley their highest-drafted player since Jamal Lewis in 2000 and third-high of all-time in franchise history when they selected him No. 6 overall in the 2016 NFL Draft out of Notre Dame.

"They drafted me straight out of college, took a chance on me," Stanley said. "I'm always going to give them first dibs when it comes to things like that out of respect."

Over the past nine years, he established himself as one of the elite blindside protectors when healthy and is coming off a resurgent 2024 season in which he played every game for the first time in his career. After agreeing to take a pay cut last offseason, Stanley was slated to be one of the top unrestricted free agents had he reached the open market.

The wide belief regarding his future was that he would likely become one of the highest-paid tackles in the league elsewhere with a new team. Thankfully for the Ravens, it never got to that. Instead of letting his price get driven up, he took a hometown discount to remain with the Charm City franchise and explained to reporters what led him to make that decision.

"I knew I was going to give Baltimore the best bargain that I would offer to any other team," Stanley said. "That being said, I still wanted to be happy with what I'm making and make sure I'm getting the value that I feel like I deserve. I think it was a good balance that could help the team and something I'm still happy with."

With an annual average of $20 million, the 10th-year veteran is tied with the Detroit Lions' Taylor Decker as the 10th highest paid left tackle and 13th among all tackles.

Prior to the legal tampering period, Stanley reportedly received a comparable offer from the Kansas City Chiefs to become Patrick Mahomes' blindside protector and the Washington Commanders and New England Patriots offered to pay him an annual salary of $24-plus million to do the same for 2024 Offensive Rookie of the Year Jayden Daniels and Drake Maye. The latter of the two illegal tampering offers would've made him the fifth-highest-paid player at his position and sixth-highest-paid among all tackles.

Legacy and friendships mean more to Stanley than breaking the bank again. He's already made over $108.6 million in his career and values the relationships he has made with teammates as a driving force behind his decision to return.

"I think the players for sure had the biggest role to do with it, [with] the locker room and the type of players that we have, including Lamar [Jackson]," Stanley said. "I was talking to Lamar a lot, but not about contracts, but me and Lamar, we talk all the time, but he never really brings that stuff up. I never really brought that stuff up to him when he was going through his deal. I think we just talk more like brothers. But yes, we talked through the whole process – not once about contracts – but the players are definitely the biggest driver of why I like being in Baltimore."

The Ravens are coming off another season where they showed great promise, broke several franchise and NFL records on offense, and were at times, viewed as the best team in the league or at least the most dangerous. Yet, they fell short of their ultimate aspirations to reach and win the Super Bowl and the feeling of having "unfinished business" is another reason Stanley cited for wanting to re-sign.

"We've broken so many records in the last however many years – I don't think we really care about it to be honest, especially the guys that have been here," Stanley said. "I think the only thing we really care about is winning a Super Bowl. All that other stuff for sure is nice and all. But yes, we definitely have unfinished business."

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Josh Reed
JOSH REED

Josh is a writer for Baltimore Ravens On SI focusing primarily on original content and reporting. He provides analysis, breakdowns, profiles, and reports on important news and transactions from and about the Ravens. His professional resume as a sports reporter includes covering local events, teams, and athletes in his hometown of Anchorage, Alaska for Anchorage Daily News. His coverage on the Ravens and other NFL teams has been featured on Heavy.com/sports, Maryland Sports Blog and most recently Baltimore Beatdown from 2021 until 2025.

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