The Atlanta Falcons have been busy this offseason trying to maintain the salary cap while shoring up the roster for the 2018 NFL season. Fortunately, they managed to get down to brass tax by signing quarterback Matt Ryan to the most lucrative deal in league history.

Needless to say, Ryan is pleased with how fluid negotiations went this offseason. According to Herbie Teope of NFL.com, he feels it has allowed him to focus more on the team's preparations:

“I think it was for both sides wanting to try and get it done, and be able to have the focus on football when we got to training camp, for sure,” Ryan told reporters during a Monday afternoon press conference. “And so, I'm happy with the timing of it.

“I think the organization is very happy with the timing of it, and certainly when we get back to training camp it's 100 percent about football and even this morning, it's 100 percent about football. I always felt confident that it was going to get done in a smooth way and in a timely manner, and I feel like it did.”

There had been plenty of talk about the nature of Ryan's looming contract extension at the beginning of the offseason. However, the Falcons made it clear that they would wait and see how the other bevy of quarterback negotiations played out. As a result, they were able to make their franchise player the first receive $30 million annually.

Despite coming off a down year, Ryan's contract is certainly well-deserved for what he has done up to this point. Since being taken with the third overall pick in the 2008 NFL Draft, he has accrued four trips to the Pro Bowl, a first-team All-Pro selection and the NFL's MVP award in 2016. He has also led the Falcons to three NFC South Division titles and their second Super Bowl appearance 9in franchise history.

Although Ryan has racked quite an impressive resume thus far, it is safe to assume that there will always be doubts about the lucrative deal if Atlanta is unable to finish the job in the near future.