John Harbaugh doesn’t much bother with his emails. Unless they’re from David Price.

For about five years, the Ravens’ longtime head coach has received a message after every game from Price, a diehard fan from Glen Burnie.

Sometimes, Price comments on — or gently critiques — the team’s most recent performance. Other times, he gets personal, sharing stories about his family or about the challenges of having cerebral palsy. Price was diagnosed at birth with the neurological condition, which causes muscle stiffness and makes moving and talking difficult.

Life at the helm of a Super Bowl contender doesn’t leave Harbaugh time to reply to many people. But he said he always finds time for Price. Their exchanges have forged an unlikely bond between a 34-year-old superfan and the 62-year-old coach of his favorite team.

“He’s definitely a guy I get back to as soon as I can,” Harbaugh said.

Price started following the Ravens in 2008, the same year the team hired Harbaugh, and quickly turned into a hardcore supporter. Ravens logos cover many of Price’s belongings, including sneakers, bags, pillows and blankets. The notification sound on his tablet is Ravens play-by-play announcer Gerry Sandusky’s touchdown call.

All along, Price said he has admired Harbaugh. When Price won a lottery to attend Ravens training camp in 2016, he wrote a letter asking to meet the veteran coach and showed up to practice with a large, neon sign taped to his wheelchair that read, “Hug Me Coach Harbaugh.”

The Ravens’ then-head of security, Darren Sanders, arranged an introduction. Price and Harbaugh shared an embrace, posed for pictures and struck up a conversation. Harbaugh found himself drawn to Price’s “unbridled enthusiasm.” Price thought Harbaugh was “a cool guy.”

By the end, Harbaugh extended Price an invitation: He could return to Ravens practices whenever he wanted.

“We were just over the moon,” remembered Sherry Price, David’s mother. David had battled a prolonged illness for much of the previous year. Connecting with Harbaugh that day was a thrill.

David Price continued visiting Harbaugh at practices. And he developed a close relationship with Sanders, with whom he stayed in touch over email.

Soon, Harbaugh wanted to email with Price, too, and passed along his contact information through Sanders.

“I was like, ‘Holy crap,’ ” Price recalled. Even years later, his voice rises in excitement. “I have the email of the head coach of my Baltimore Ravens!”

Harbaugh said he doesn’t believe he has given any other fans his email address — or a direct line to express their unfiltered thoughts about his team. But he has no regrets about making an exception for Price.

“Over time, I got to know him and started considering him a friend,” Harbaugh said. “I was just interested in hearing from him.”

Price emails Harbaugh a few days after each Ravens game, as well as throughout the offseason, typing on his tablet with his right index finger as his left hand steadies his wrist. Harbaugh typically responds within a day or two.

If the offense lights up the scoreboard or the defense racks up turnovers, Price will write to express his excitement. After a loss, he’ll offer words of encouragement. Sometimes, Price fills his messages with purple and black heart emojis.

“Here he is dealing with real challenges,” Harbaugh said, “and yet he chooses to look at all the positive things out there.”

Still, Price isn’t shy about slipping in some constructive feedback.

Earlier this season, he reached out to suggest that running back Derrick Henry should be receiving more touches. When the Ravens and star quarterback Lamar Jackson were embroiled in a bitter contract dispute in 2023, Price served as a voice for anxious Ravens fans everywhere.

“Basically, he was like, ‘Get Lamar signed,’ ” Harbaugh recalled. The team soon followed Price’s advice.

Price also has opened up to Harbaugh about his health struggles. And they’ve bonded over their shared Christian faith, discussing how religion shapes their outlook on life and offers strength during tough times.

When Price’s aunt was dying of brain cancer, Harbaugh checked in often.

“He emailed a long prayer,” Price remembered.

Besides exchanging emails, the two connect in person whenever Price visits the Ravens’ practice facility. Price has returned so many times that players and staff across the organization recognize him.

They’ve also gotten to know his best friend, Corey Ward, a Ravens fan from Edgewater with pink-streaked hair that matches her fiery personality.

Price and Ward, a 33-year-old who also has cerebral palsy, do nearly everything together — watch movies, go bowling, share meals, take vacations, exchange Christmas presents. “We’re most definitely family at this point,” Price said, as Ward held his hand.

In recent years, Ward has been one of the few people Price brings along to Ravens practices. Known for calling after players with her high-pitched voice, wrapping them in tight hugs, and giving a thumbs-up for a good play, she has formed her own bond with the team.

The Ravens host a number of visitors at their practices, but Harbaugh said Price and Ward are different.

“You can’t help but want to go over there and say hi because when you do, you get greeted with such joy,” Harbaugh said.

Price has filled his bedroom with mementos of his relationship to the Ravens. There are photos with former head of security Sanders, who died of cancer in 2021, a handwritten card from Harbaugh, a helmet and football covered in signatures, and a framed Ray Lewis jersey, on which the franchise legend wrote, “LOVE YOU!!!”

“I gauge what kind of person someone is by how they interact with David, and I’ve never been disappointed by anyone in the organization,” Sherry Price said. “Coach and the players and really everybody there treat Corey and David as the adults that they are.”

Price sees his special connection to Harbaugh and the Ravens as a privilege and a responsibility. He only visits the team when he knows he won’t be a distraction, limits who he brings to practices and never asks for game tickets.

“I’m not looking for tickets,” Price said. “I just like to build a friendship with them.”