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Harbaugh Brothers Initiated Anquan Boldin Trade

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It didn't take long for the Harbaugh brothers to find a new competition after Super Bowl XLVII.

Just more than a month later, the two were at the owners meetings racing down the water slide at The Arizona Biltmore.

For those who followed the brother vs. brother Super Bowl storyline, the two are still very close, John said Tuesday. And they even worked in tandem to initiate the trade of wide receiver Anquan Boldin.

When it became clear that Boldin and the Ravens were not going to agree onthe receiver's 2013 salary, and that Baltimore was going to part ways with Boldin, John called his brother.

"I called him up and just said, 'Would you be interested?'" John said. "He said, 'Heck yeah, let me go talk to Trent [Baalke, general manager].'"

Baalke and General Manager Ozzie Newsome took it from there, but the Harbaugh brothers were at the root of the trade.

So was Jim suspicious at all of his brother's offer?  

"I'm sure he was probably a little suspicious," John said with a laugh.

"But Anquan is a great player, there's just no denying it. From a pure [football] standpoint, I think they feel like they got a great deal. I know they got a great player, they got a great leader, they got a guy that will be a perfect fit in their offense in a lot of ways, and they realized that right away."

Jim responded to that Wednesday.

"Maybe I'm too trusting. I really trusted him. I trusted my brother, I trusted Ozzie," Jim joked before turning serious.

"That trust was well placed. Just like our players said when we made the deal, Justin Smith in particular was like, 'You got us a tough guy!' They respect Anquan Boldin."

Boldin played a large part in helping John and the Ravens beat Jim and the 49ers, 34-31, in Super Bowl XLVII. It's a game that the brothers don't talk about much these days. John said they've only talked about it a little bit.

"We don't get very far. We disagree very quickly," John said with a laugh.

What they may disagree on is the non-call on the contact between Ravens cornerback Jimmy Smith and 49ers wide receiver Michael Crabtree on the critical late fourth down that all but decided the game. Jim was vocal at the time, and has been since, that he thinks there should have been a flag.

Still, Jim expressed only happiness for John more than a month after Super Bowl XLVII.

"I'm very proud of him, very happy for his success," Jim said. "That's my brother, I love him. I'm tremendously pleased. He's the best. They had the best team, they had the best year, they had the best coach. I'm really pleased for my brother that that's him standing there."

John was asked whether the Super Bowl has put a strain on his relationship with his brother.

"I don't really have the psychological training to delve into that, but we've got a really strong relationship and it's only gotten stronger," John said. "And I feel like right now it's as strong as it's ever been."

The two families came to Phoenix a couple of days early and have been enjoying a vacation of sorts together. John said that after not talking for more than a week immediately after Super Bowl XLVII, the brothers have talked more than usual the past two weeks.

"The biggest thing the media doesn't see is that Jim is a really fun, funny guy. He's a fun guy to be around and he's got a great sense of humor, and he's good. We've had a lot of fun," John said.

"They have no rules on the slide. You can stack two and three people up, you can make chains. We did it all. Can you imagine Jim and I stacked on top of each other with our kids on top of us?"

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