Arthur Maulet praises team’s culture as reason why he re-signed; was willing to take less to stay

Cornerback Arthur Maulet gave credit to the Ravens organization and culture for why he re-signed.

With repeated frequency, the Baltimore Ravens’ culture has been proclaimed by players, coaches and staff as one of the best in the NFL. Last month, Head Coach John Harbaugh said Jadeveon Clowney’s agent told him it was the first time Clowney ended the season happy. Now, it’s cornerback Arthur Maulet sharing the culture was a driving force in why he didn’t want to go anywhere else and was willing to sign for less to remain a Raven.

“I didn’t want to leave. I didn’t want to go anywhere else,” Maulet said on the team’s podcast, “The Lounge.” “I had the best year of my career here. So, whatever we had with negotiations to work it out, I was going to take less or whatever it was to be here. I love this team. I love my teammates. I love the coaches. It’s the most fun I ever had on a team.”

Maulet’s been a journeyman throughout his NFL career, playing for five different franchises. But there’s something different about Baltimore. For Maulet, it’s home. It’s the culture.

“I just think it’s just the building, man. I just think everybody in this building speaks the same language. We all work hard. We all care for each other. It’s a brotherhood. We’re comfortable having difficult conversations if we need to. We don’t hold anything [or] grudges against each other. We can motivate each other by making the plays that we do make. We’re not jealous of other guys making plays. We’re happy for them. We’re celebrating with them. Just all of it. Just the camaraderie. … I was messing with a couple guys, like, I saw the cooks working out. I’m like, ‘everybody work out here!’ So, I was like, we all speak the same language.”

Maulet signed with the Ravens last season on a one-year, $1.08 million deal with $220k guaranteed. That guaranteed money meant everything to Maulet, who was denied guaranteed money in his contract negotiations with the Steelers, ultimately leading to the two parting ways. He hasn’t forgotten the Steelers lack of respect in doing so, and applauded the Ravens last year for giving him such a deal.

“I was coming from Pittsburgh and they didn’t really give me anything guaranteed on my second-year contract. But, when I signed with Baltimore, you guys did,” Maulet said. “And I just felt like that [was] just the ultimate respect because I had put blood, sweat and tears in with [the Steelers] and I played hurt and did all these things and they still didn’t want to give me guaranteed [money]. But you guys turned on the film this past year before y’all signed me and y’all still gave me some guaranteed [money] and I didn’t play for you guys.”

Maulet re-signed a two-year deal with the Ravens on March 22. The official numbers have not been released, but it sounds like Maulet’s deal will be friendly for Baltimore while giving him assurances other teams may not have afforded.