Joe Flacco's gamble has officially paid off

Joe Flacco could have signed a pretty nice contract extension with the Ravens before the 2012 season. He was being offered an awful lot of money, and probably more than most people thought he deserved at the time.

He turned down every offer, saying that he wanted to wait it out and see how he played this year.

After a Super Bowl win and a Super Bowl MVP, Flacco's gambling has finally paid off. Big time.

Flacco and the Ravens just agreed to a 6-year, $120.6M contract that makes Flacco the highest paid player in NFL history.

Yes, you heard correctly. Joe Flacco just signed the richest contract in NFL history, with slightly more than a $20M per year average. That's a shade higher than Drew Brees, who just signed an extension with the Saints for $20M per year.

Flacco has never been to a Pro Bowl in his career, but he does hold the record for most postseason road wins in a career, with six.

There's no word yet on how much of the money is guaranteed, which is really the most important detail in NFL contracts, but we'll let you know when we find out.