In March, Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said internal conversations have taken place about a Lamar Jackson extension. Talks on that front have also been had with the two-time MVP.
“We’ve had some conversations before the draft, after the draft, in person last week,” general manager Eric DeCosta said about Jackson during an appearance on the BMore Baseball Podcast (video link). “I think we’re in the introductory sort of stage of looking at what an extension might look like.”
Three years remain on Jackson’s contract. That five-year, $260MM pact contained $185MM in guarantees and plenty of locked-in compensation remains to be paid out. $21MM in base salary is guaranteed for the coming season, and another $29MM in base pay for 2026 vested in March.
Team and player could elect to wait until next offseason to work out a third contract, especially since that’d provide the front office an opportunity to navigate the QB’s increased cap hit. Assuming that deal comes to fruition, it will likely once again reset the quarterback market, something that Harbaugh has already alluded to.
Dak Prescott‘s extension with the Cowboys made him the highest-paid NFL player of all time from an annual standpoint, as the QB’s AAV comes in at $60MM. PatrickMahomes‘ $450MM in total value still paces the position, while Josh Allen earned a position-leading $250MM in guaranteed money. It’s unlikely that Jackson will be able to top all of those categories; at the very least, he should see a significant (and potentially record-breaking) jump on the $52MM AAV he’s currently attached to.
Jackson had one of the most productive showings of his career during his age-27 season. He tossed a career-high 41 touchdowns vs. only four interceptions, and he topped 900 rushing yards for the first time since the 2020 campaign. Thanks to that showing, Jackson finished second in MVP voting.
Ben Levine contributed to this post.