30 Lesser Known Facts You Probably Didn’t Know About Joe Flacco

Considered as the all-time leader in Ravens history for passing yards and passing touchdowns, Joseph Vincent Flacco is known for having one of the strongest arms in the NFL. Here are 30 interesting facts about him:

1. Flacco was born on January 16, 1985, in Audubon, New Jersey, to Karen and Steve Flacco. His nickname is ‘Joe Cool.’
2. He has four brothers, Mike, John, Brian and Tom. They are all professional sportsman playing baseball and football.
3. He did his schooling at Audubon High School and attended University of Pittsburgh and University of Delaware. He is an honor student as an accounting major.
4. At school he was good in baseball, basketball and football. He was the star quarterback for his school team, the Green Wave.
5. Flacco was redshirted as a freshman in 2003 and could not see much of action on the field until he moved to Delaware for 2006 season.
6. He was considered as one of college football’s most accurate passers in 2007 and set 20 records during his career with Delaware. In September 2009, a 30 foot poster was added, decorating the Delaware Stadium.
7. Flacco was considered an accidental prospect then, which prompted him after his junior season in college to ask his football coach if it is fine if he played baseball. His coach assured him of NFL draft. .
8. His outstanding senior season earned him an invitation to Senior Bowl in Mobil, the all-star game from where his stock took off in front of NFL evaluators.
9. He consolidated his claim as one of the top five quarterbacks by winning a long distance throwing competition in ESPN’s State Farm College Football All-Star Challenge.
10. Flaccowas the 18th overall pick by Baltimore Ravens in the 2008 NFL Draft. He became the highest drafted player from Delaware and also the first Division 1 FCS quarterback selected in first round since 1995.
11. Although his selection in the first round of NFL Draft was criticized initially, Ravens manager was confident that he could succeed in late-season conditions. He signed a five year contract worth around $ 30 million with a guarantee of $ 8.75 million on July 16, 2008.
12. As a God’s will, he became a starting quarterback in 2008 season opener against Cincinnati Bengals, due to Kyle Boller, the Ravens starter’s injury and its backup Troy Smith’s illness. He made the longest rushing touchdown of 38 yards run by quarterback in Ravens history.
13. He is the first rookie quarterback to win two play-off games, when Ravens beat Miami and Tennessee before losing to Pittsburgh in the final of AFC Championship. He was awarded the ‘Diet Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Year.’
14. During 2009 season he threw more than 3000 yards with 20 plus touchdown, to become Ravens first quarterback to achieve it in a single season.
15. Ravens qualified for the 2010-11 Playoffs and in the process Flacco became one of the four quarterbacks to be part of their franchise to qualify in the first three seasons. He reached 10,000 career passing yards in that season.
16. He married Dana on June 25, 2011. The couples have three sons, Stephen Vincent, Daniel, Francis Michael and a daughter Evelyn Renee.
17. His professional self-confidence made him turn down an offer for new contract worth $ 16 million a year from his franchise in July 2012.He said ‘I think I’m getting better and we’ll be worth more down the road.
18. On January 12, 2013, Flacco’s deep touchdown strike to Jacoby Jones, tied the game against Denver Broncos, which has since been known as Mile-High Miracle. Flacco heaved a 70 yards pass. Raven went on to win the game by 38 to 35 in the second overtime.
19. Flacco was declared ‘Most Valuable Player’ of Super Bowl XLVII, played on February 03, 2013. He was presented with brand new red Chevrolet Corvette.
20. On March 04, 2013, he signed a contract worth $ 120.6 million for six years. He was the highest paid quarterback in NFL history then.
21. In August 2013, he purchased Baltimore County home from Matt Birk for $ 1.385 million.
22. When Ravens won the Wild Card Play-off against Pittsburg Steelers 30-17, Flacco became the first quarterback in NFL history to start and win a play-off game in six of their first seven seasons.
23. On November 22, 2015, in a game against St. Louis Rams, Flacco suffered a torn ACL and MCL injuries, which put him out of the season for good.The injury put a stop to his 122 consecutive starts to regular season games.
24. Flacco was ranked number 97, on the NFL Top 100 players of 2015. He fell 39 places from previous year, where he was ranked number 58.
25. On March 02, 2016, he signed a $ 66.4 million contract for three years extension including a $ 40 million signing bonus. This made him the highest paid player in the NFL history then.
26. Flacco’s career spanning nine profession season with Baltimore Ravens is credited with 32,639 passing yards with 182 touchdowns and 117 interceptions as on 2016. He had posted a career high and franchise record of 4,317 passing yards.
27. He has several endorsement deals throughout his career. In 2013 he signed a deal with McDonald to promote their new item, ‘the Mighty Wings.’ He also promoted ‘Zynga’ a mobile application called ‘NFL Showdown: Football Manager.’
28. He is actively involved in charity works. In 2012, he teamed up with Red Devils of Maryland and raised money to support the families of those dealing with breast cancer. He has embraced Baltimore and the surrounding area and also provides substantial support to Special Olympics.
29. Flacco cherishes two things in life, Family and football. His father is his best friend, who taught him to be tough and never let anyone see him sweat. The reason why he is low on popularity contest but won him number of games.
30. On February 09, 2017, a survey by wearefanatics.com found that Joe Flacco is the most attractive player in the NFL. He had the highest average score of 8.2.
31. Joe Flacco Net Worth: $65 Million