{"id":523750,"date":"2026-03-14T20:15:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-14T20:15:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/523750\/"},"modified":"2026-03-14T20:15:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-14T20:15:08","slug":"ravens-failure-to-extend-lamar-jacksons-contract-is-no-small-issue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/523750\/","title":{"rendered":"Ravens’ failure to extend Lamar Jackson’s contract is no small issue"},"content":{"rendered":"

The aftermath of the failed Maxx Crosby trade became the overwhelming storyline involving the Ravens this week. Another important wrinkle merits much more attention.<\/p>\n

During his Wednesday press conference, G.M. Eric DeCosta addressed the team\u2019s decision to exercise the right to restructure quarterback Lamar Jackson\u2019s existing contract. It happened because, as DeCosta said, the two sides \u201ckind of ran out of time<\/a>\u201d in their discussions on an extension.<\/p>\n

On the surface, it\u2019s no surprise. The last time the Ravens and Jackson were trying to do a new deal, it took far too long to get it done. The hidden (by both the NFL and the NFL Players Association) collusion grievance ruling that came to light in June 2025 included fresh details about the negotiations that finally resulted in a new deal in 2023. During the grievance hearing, DeCosta testified that direct negotiations with Jackson (who does not have an agent) were complicated by a claim from Jackson that the microphone on his phone was broken<\/a>.<\/p>\n

That specific example speaks to the chronic communications issues<\/a> arising from Jackson not having an NFLPA-certified agent who can serve as the buffer between player and team. Given the team\u2019s desire to get a new deal done before the start of free agency, it\u2019s fair to wonder whether the communications problems continue to bog down the ability to make progress.<\/p>\n

An extension for the franchise quarterback was clearly a priority for the franchise. Said DeCosta in January, at the press conference following the firing of coach John Harbaugh: \u201cWe do have a nice little nest egg; it\u2019s not as much as we\u2019d like. A deal with Lamar would give us the ability to be more active<\/a> to re-sign, probably more players on the team, and potentially go after a couple big-ticket items.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the same press conference, owner Steve Bisciotti echoed the importance of extending Jackson\u2019s contract. \u201cThe urgency of that matters to me because we\u2019ve got free agents, and I don\u2019t want to go into free agency with that hanging over our head<\/a>,\u201d Bisciotti said. \u201cI made that clear to Lamar, and I think he was very appreciative of my stance, and hopefully, willing to work with Eric and not get this thing dragged out into April like it was the last time.\u201d<\/p>\n

DeCosta reiterated this week that he won\u2019t talk publicly about his negotiation with Jackson. There\u2019s no way of knowing why the deal didn\u2019t get done. But it\u2019s clear the Ravens wanted to do it.<\/p>\n

It should be easy. Bisciotti acknowledged that in January. \u201cI think [Jackson] is amenable to doing something that mirrors the last deal that he did, although the annual number will be a little higher,\u201d Bisciotti said. \u201cBut I\u2019m hoping that it\u2019s \u2018plug in your number\u2019 in the same contract he signed [in 2023] and move on.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jackson\u2019s current deal has an annual average of $52.5 million. At the time he signed it, he was the highest-paid player in the league. He has since won another MVP award, finished second for what would have been his third MVP and has slipped all the way to No. 10 on the quarterback APY list. <\/p>\n

The top of the market (if we suspend disbelief \u2014 as everyone has \u2014 and ignore the astronomical new-money APY of Josh Allen\u2019s replacement contract from 2025) belongs to Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, at $60 million. As we hear it, Jackson hopes to get to $62 million per year.<\/p>\n

Bisciotti\u2019s instincts are correct. It\u2019s just a matter of plugging a new number into the existing deal. Jackson\u2019s contract over the next two years pays out a base amount of $104 million. A three-year, $186 million extension would result in a five-year, $290 million deal. The new-money average would be $62 million. The total average from signing would be $58 million.<\/p>\n

The deeper issue would be the guarantees. How many years would be fully guaranteed at signing? Two? Three? At one point, Jackson wanted a Deshaun Watson-style fully-guaranteed contract the last time around. Does he want one this time around?<\/p>\n

With the preferred window for a new deal slammed shut \u2014 and with players like Isaiah Likely, Tyler Linderbaum, and Patrick Ricard gone for new teams \u2014 the Ravens\u2019 urgency may seem to be diminished. But here\u2019s the reality. With Jackson representing himself, he\u2019ll eventually return his focus to football. The can may get kicked to 2027. And if a new deal isn\u2019t done before the start of the next league year, the final countdown toward Jackson\u2019s first shot at unrestricted free agency will begin. (He has a no-tag clause in his current deal.)<\/p>\n

\u201cCertainly hopeful that we\u2019ll get an extension done,\u201d DeCosta said Wednesday regarding Jackson. \u201cI think it\u2019s important to both parties. But we remain to see what\u2019s gonna take place in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

He\u2019s right about that. There are two outcomes for the Ravens: They get a new deal done with Jackson, or he makes $104 million ($102.5 million if he doesn\u2019t show up for enough of the offseason program in 2026 and 2027) or he hits the open market in less than 24 months.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The aftermath of the failed Maxx Crosby trade became the overwhelming storyline involving the Ravens this week. Another…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":523751,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[63],"tags":[349,99],"class_list":["post-523750","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nfl","tag-nfl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/523750","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=523750"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/523750\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/523751"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=523750"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=523750"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=523750"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}