Yesterday, just minutes before the 4 P.M. deadline, Ray Rice signed a 5 year, $40 million contract and Ravens fans were able to back away from the cliff a bit.  Rice and his agent Todd France had been working with the Ravens all offseason (even while driving to the facility yesterday to sign the deal) in order to get this deal done and thank god they did.

Rice shed tears of joy as he signed the deal that would secure him for the rest of his life.  It’s good to see Rice, who appears to be a pretty good guy, so happy and get such a good contract.  He went about this whole negotiation process and offseason as a complete adult and professional.  This doesn’t seem like it would be hard but in the NFL, this is hardly the norm.

I can’t tell you how much I wanted Drew Brees and Matt Forte to just shut their mouths and let their agents, who they hired to talk for them, actually do their jobs.  Matt Forte wouldn’t shut up about the amount of loyalty he showed to the Bears and the lack of loyalty they had been showing him.  And Drew Brees wouldn’t shut up about pretty much everything. 

I mean, look at our own team in Ed Reed.  Reed has lost the good graces of a lot of fans because he simply will not stop running his mouth.  I don’t blame him for wanting more money and a new contract in the slightest bit.  I would want the same thing in his position.  But Ed, play out your current contract and then worry about it. 

What players like Reed, Brees, and Forte need to realize though is, running to the media or talking about it on Twitter is not the way to go about it.  Let the talks happen behind closed doors.  I wouldn’t want everyone to know about me asking for a raise at my job. 

Look, I don’t even blame a guy for sitting out of training camp or games but there comes a point where it becomes too public.  You just shouldn’t criticize your boss in public when you aren’t getting what you want regardless of the profession you are in.

Ray Rice handled his contract exactly how a player should.  He let his agent be the “bad guy” for him.  Ray genuinely wanted to be back for training camp.  He genuinely wanted to get a contract that would be fair for both him and the team (which is probably why he got more than Matt Forte).  Rice never said a word about being mad at the team, never called anyone out, and most importantly, played out his original contract (see, Ed Reed).

It was reported that Rice and his agent were looking for money comparable to that of Adrian Peterson’s contract.  Obviously, they didn’t get that so it’s easy to say they caved in at the last second.  The reality is that they and everyone else knew they weren’t going to get that kind of money.  They were merely negotiating.  Todd France, Rice’s agent, said in an interview with Glenn Clark, “At the end of the day though it’s not about winning and losing. You seriously have to take it out of the equation. You can get very caught up on paperwork and very caught up on numbers.  The kid just set up himself and his family for generation after generation.”

And that’s exactly it.  It was never about getting the most possible money for Ray.  He just wanted what was fair and to play football.  He didn’t want this process to drag out.  “That wasn’t his MO. You got some guys in the league that handle things differently. Ray, he is all about football,” said France.

Ray genuinely cares about the fans here in Baltimore, as exhibited by his constant charity work.  He cares what people think about him. France said, “As he told me, I’ve never played this game for money, Todd. I don’t want it to be all about the money.  I don’t want people to think I’m greedy.”  Don’t worry Ray, we don’t.  We are happy to have you in Baltimore for another five years.

OWINGS MILLS, Md. — It came down to the final minutes prior to the 4 p.m. deadline, but the Ravens and Ray Rice have come to terms on a five-year contract to keep the Pro Bowl running back in Baltimore for the foreseeable future.

Multiple outlets are reporting the deal is worth $40 million, paying him $17 million in the first year of the deal and $25 million over the first two seasons. The contract creates an estimated $2.7 million in cap space for the Ravens in 2012, according to Pro Football Talk.

“Ray has been an integral part of us earning the playoffs in each of his four seasons, and that includes helping us get to two AFC Championship games,” Newsome said. “His production on the field speaks for itself, and his leadership in the locker room is outstanding.”

Talks had progressed slowly between agent Todd France and the front office over the last few months, leading many to believe a long-term contract would not be reached by Monday. However, negotiations picked up over the final hour or two as vice president of football administration Pat Moriarty and France ironed out the details of the five-year contract.

Just a few minutes before the deadline, a happy Rice was spotted getting into his car and driving away from the team’s Owings Mills facility. He tweeted a message a few minutes later to Ravens fans.

“We knew we would be rewarded at some point,” said France, who told AM 1570 WNST that Rice was prepared to sit out training camp and even games if necessary. “This has been an ongoing thing.”

The $24 million in guaranteed money makes Rice the third highest paid running back in the NFL, behind only Minnesota’s Adrian Peterson ($36 million guaranteed) and Tennessee’s Chris Johnson ($30 million guaranteed).

Monday’s news also marks the second straight year in which the Ravens have reached a long-term agreement with their franchise player at the deadline. Last September, defensive tackle Haloti Ngata signed a five-year, $61 million contract after being designated with the franchise tag in February 2011.

Rice is coming off his best season in which he rushed for a career-high 1,364 yards and led the NFL with 2,068 yards from scrimmage. In 61 career games over his first four seasons, the two-time Pro Bowl back ranks second on both the franchise’s all-time rushing yards (4,377) and total scrimmage yards (6,612) lists.

The long-term contract for Rice also means the Ravens can shift their attention to quarterback Joe Flacco, who is entering the final year of his original rookie contract. If the running back hadn’t signed a multi-year contract, the Ravens may have found themselves in the uncomfortable position next offseason of being forced to franchise one player while allowing the other to potentially test free agency.

Monday’s news eliminates that nightmarish scenario and frees up the franchise tag to use on Flacco if a long-term deal is not reached between now and next offseason.

Rice repeatedly expressed his desire to remain in Baltimore over the last year as he has many community initiatives, including an anti-bullying event held last Friday. The long-term security provided by the Ravens allows Rice to give back even more over the next several years.

“I should say something about his community efforts; I think they are almost unmatched by any player in the NFL,” Newsome said. “You’d have a hard time finding a player who does more or is as serious about helping others as Ray is. He is one of those players you can proudly say, ‘He’s on our team.’”

Visit the BuyAToyota.com Audio Vault to hear agent Todd France’s interview on AM 1570 WNST here.