We've heard the Atlanta Falcons owner and general manager dismiss Matt Ryan's potential massive contract extension being a concern; now we get to hear the same from the man himself.
"It's not something that I get heavily involved in," Ryan said Monday, via Kelsey Conway of the team's official website. "My job is to get myself prepared to go out and be successful on the field and then let the business side of it be handled by the people who are competent at handling that. Everything is good and I think the discussions have been really positive.
"As far as timeframe or anything like that I think it will shake out and handle itself. I'm not sure if it will be today, tomorrow or in a couple of weeks but I really think we are moving in the right direction. I'm excited to be here that's the biggest thing and I think all of those things will take care of itself."
Ryan's dismissal of the process comes on the heels of GM Thomas Dimitroff saying last week a contract extension was "close."
Ryan is set to make $19.25 million in 2018 and count $21.65 million against the salary cap, per Over The Cap. If for some unapparent reason contract talks broke down, the Falcons could brandish the franchise tag the next two years, which would be worth about $26 million and $31.2 million respectively in 2019 and 2020. That $76.45 million guaranteed three-year cash flow should be the starting point of any contract discussion.
The question is whether the Falcons will sweeten that guarantee to get Ryan closer to Kirk Cousins' $84 million guaranteed over three years.
It's a query that apparently doesn't keep Ryan up at night -- that's the job of his newborn twins.
With all sides speaking positively about a deal getting done, it would be a surprise if Ryan doesn't have a new contract by the time training camp kicks off this summer.
