Flaccometer gauge rating Joe Flacco's elite status with needle pointing to 'Is Joe Flacco Elite?'

Is Joe Flacco Elite?

2013catchphraseresurgent

Published November 9, 2026

Is Joe Flacco Elite? is a sports catchphrase that started as a genuine debate about the Baltimore Ravens quarterback during the 2012 NFL season and spiraled into a long-running joke after the NFL on Fox Twitter account asked the question on January 14, 20131. Barstool Sports and parody account @PFTCommenter later turned the phrase into a recurring bit, with revivals every time Flacco plays well, including his 2023 run with the Cleveland Browns2.

nfl memes catchphrase memes football memes debate memes 2012 memes

Overview

The joke works as a rhetorical question that sports fans and pundits repeat regardless of how Flacco is actually playing. When he throws four touchdowns, fans tweet 'Is Joe Flacco Elite?' with mock sincerity, and when he throws three interceptions, the same question gets asked with full sincerity3. The humor sits in the fact that writers spent years arguing the point in good faith before the question itself turned into a bit.

Barstool Sports and parody account @PFTCommenter drove much of the comedic use, treating 'Joe Flacco is elite' as an article of faith to be defended against all evidence2. Posts often pair the catchphrase with Flacco highlights, mundane Flacco stat lines, or completely unrelated footage, since the premise is funnier the harder it is to defend. The format carried through Flacco's journeyman years and came roaring back during his 2023 Cleveland Browns stint, when Barstool accounts flooded Twitter with 'JOE FLACCO IS ELITE' posts after wins4.

Origin & Background

Platform
Sports media (origin) / Twitter (viral spread)
Date
2013

Joe Flacco joined the Baltimore Ravens in 2008 and played solidly without matching the statistical output of peers like Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers or the Manning brothers, which set up a running 2012 debate among pundits over whether he deserved the 'elite' label before his contract year5. Sports Illustrated, ESPN, Fox Sports and Mad Dog Radio all weighed in that fall, with John Clayton arguing yes and Ashley Fox arguing no5.

The catchphrase form crystallized on January 14, 2013, after Flacco beat the Tom Brady-led Patriots in the AFC Championship game and the NFL on Fox Twitter account tweeted the literal question, 'Is Joe Flacco Elite?'1. Flacco then won the Super Bowl and the game's MVP award weeks later, and The New York Times ran a piece titled 'Flacco's precision is typical of elite quarterbacks' the day after the win1. The Ravens signed him to a $120 million deal shortly after, and the 'elite' debate kept running in sports media long past the point of sincere inquiry1.

How It Spread

The phrase moved from sports-radio talking point to internet bit largely through Barstool Sports and parody Twitter account @PFTCommenter, who adopted 'Is Joe Flacco elite?' as a personal catchphrase1. On August 6, 2015, @PFTCommenter crashed MSNBC's live coverage of a Republican presidential debate while holding a sign with the question, which got the catchphrase coverage on ESPN and other outlets6.

The 2016 election cycle gave the bit more fuel. Presidential candidate Donald Trump posted a video on September 21, 2015, agreeing that Flacco was elite, and @PFTCommenter got Democratic candidate Martin O'Malley to answer the question in the affirmative on Twitter weeks later7. In 2017, Flacco acknowledged the meme directly in a Tostitos Super Bowl commercial where he described himself as an 'elite' party guest1.

The joke went quiet during Flacco's middling years with the Broncos and Jets, then revived in late 2023 when he started for the injury-ravaged Cleveland Browns. Flacco threw for 1,321 yards and 10 touchdowns from Week 13 on, more than any other QB over that stretch, and Sports Illustrated's Browns Digest ran a December 27 piece arguing Flacco had been 'elite' since joining Cleveland2. Barstool Sports posted a video captioned 'JOE FLACCO IS ELITE' on December 29, 2023, among other revival posts4.

Timeline

2012-09-11

Sports radio and ESPN writers openly debate whether Flacco is an elite QB during his contract year with Baltimore[5].

2013-01-14

NFL on Fox tweets 'Is Joe Flacco Elite?' after Flacco beats the Patriots in the AFC Championship game[1].

2013-02-04

The New York Times runs 'Flacco's precision is typical of elite quarterbacks' after his Super Bowl MVP performance[1].

2015-08-06

@PFTCommenter crashes MSNBC's Republican debate coverage with an 'Is Joe Flacco Elite?' sign[6].

2015-09-21

Donald Trump posts a video stating that Joe Flacco is an elite quarterback[7].

2017-02-05

Flacco winks at the meme in a Tostitos Super Bowl commercial, calling himself an 'elite' party guest[1].

2023-12-27

Sports Illustrated's Browns Digest publishes 'Joe Flacco Has Been Elite Since Joining the Browns'[2].

2023-12-29

Barstool Sports revives the catchphrase in viral posts during Flacco's Cleveland playoff run[4].

Loading tweet...

How to Use This Meme

Posts typically take the form of a declarative 'Joe Flacco is elite' statement or the original question, paired with a clip, stat line or screenshot that either supports the claim earnestly or undercuts it. A common convention is to post the catchphrase after any Flacco highlight, with escalating confidence inversely proportional to how impressive the play actually was4.

Frequently Asked Questions