Atlanta Falcons are lucky they negotiated Matt Ryan's long term deal when they did

The Atlanta Falcons may or may not be in the midst of contract negotiations with Julio Jones. Let's just close our eyes, cross our fingers, sacrifice a chicken, and hope they are. It's a stressful situation, to be sure, both for the Falcons and Jones' camp. And to be frank, it's all just part of the game. This is business as usual, where teams are perpetually trying to negotiate the most team-friendly deals possible and players are trying to secure their financial futures. But there's one contract they're not currently worried about: that of Matthew Thomas Ryan.

Ryan signed a five year, $104 million contract extension in 2013. He signed that deal about 3 months after Aaron Rodgers signed his record setting $110 million contract. To date, Rodgers' contract stands alone, as it should. But that won't last.

The market is changing enough that the Rodgers' contract eventually will be topped. There is an outside chance Russell Wilson could get a deal this week that tops Rodgers'. Wilson is hoping for $25 million a year. Unfortunately for him and others, that market won't open until next year, as I wrote yesterday in analyzing his situation.

Clayton cites Eli Manning, Phillip Rivers, and Andrew Luck as players likely to get better contracts than Rodgers. Certainly Ryan's name would be in the mix were the Falcons negotiating his contract now.