For much of the first few months of the offseason, there had been the looming cloud of star quarterback Matt Ryan' contract situation looming overhead of the Atlanta Falcons. Ryan had been entering the final year of his five-year deal by being able to agree to a record-breaking five-year, $150 million deal with him last week.

During a recent interview on SiriusXM NFL Radio, general manager Thomas Dimitroff stated that it was simple process given the mutual interest on both sides to get a deal to keep Ryan in a Falcons uniform for the long haul.

“I thought it was a real good and productive negotiations. We were really honest and direct with each other. We knew that Matt wanted to be here for a long time & we wanted him here for a long time. We knew it was going to be a lucrative deal of course. I think going in realistic versus pie int he sky on either side really allowed us to get the deal done.”

There had been no concern at any point that a new deal would be put into place this offseason with the only hold up being that Ryan wanted personal time for his family as his wife gave birth to twins. Following that point, things had continued to progress toward a new contract being completed to keep him under contract in Atlanta for the next six seasons.

Through his first 10 seasons with the Falcons, Ryan helped bring a tremendous amount of stability to the franchise with six playoff appearances and three NFC South division titles. He has led the team to .500 or better records eight times while notching double-digit wins six times. He’s also strung together an impressive career that has seen him earn four Pro Bowl selections, a First-Team All-Pro nod, an NFL MVP award and the NFL Offensive Player of the Year.

This was simply a quick process that never truly had any reason for concern about Ryan not getting a lucrative extension to potentially finish his career with the Falcons.