Breakdown of Joe Flacco contract extension

The Cincinnati Bengals brought in multiple names to help bolster a bad defensive unit for the 2026 season in free agency, but the team also brought back some key pieces on the offensive side as well.

The Bengals front office re-signed both Dalton Risner and Joe Flacco to one year extensions, bringing back some important veteran guys on the offensive side of the football.

Flacco was traded to the Bengals after Joe Burrow went down with a toe injury last season and made an immediate impact on both the offense and the team as a whole.

Whether we want to acknowledge the elephant in the room or not, it is time for the Bengals to invest in a quality backup behind Burrow because of his injury history, and Flacco is that guy.

The Bengals signed Flacco to a 1-year, $6 million contract last week, but it is actually a 3-year, $6 million deal with two void years, per OverTheCap.com.

Here is more of a breakdown of the extension:

Flacco's deal includes $4 million in guaranteed money, and his cap hit will be $3.3 million this year, followed by $2.7 in the void year of 2027 (if the Bengals don't re-sign him) and $0 in the second void year in 2028, per OverTheCap.com.

Flacco's base salary this season is $1.3 million, in addition to a $4 million signing bonus and another $700,000 in roster bonus, and he could earn incentives as well.

No matter what, it was time to get Joe Burrow a backup that could compete if needed, and Flacco proved he could do that last season after being thrown into the fire.