Lamar Jackson agrees to $260M contract extension with Baltimore Ravens

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson has signed a contract extension worth $260 million with the team, which includes $185 million in guaranteed wages. This deal makes him the highest-paid player in the NFL, surpassing Jalen Hurts’ $255 million extension with the Philadelphia Eagles.

On Thursday, the Ravens confirmed on Twitter that they reached a five-year contract extension with the star quarterback after several weeks of negotiations. The tweet read, “We’ve agreed in principle on a five-year contract extension with QB @Lj_era8‼️”

Baltimore Ravens

2023-04-30 11:35

We’ve agreed in principle on a 5-year contract extension with QB @Lj_era8‼️ 😈😈😈😈 https://t.co/tQj1Rzqcha

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Weeks of negotiations

Earlier this year, the team that drafted the former NFL MVP in 2018 had difficulty reaching an agreement on a new deal with Jackson, prompting him to request a trade. However, Jackson said that the Ravens were not interested in meeting his value.

He had been seeking a contract comparable to the fully guaranteed $230 million deal given to Deshaun Watson by the Cleveland Browns last year.

Throughout the NFL offseason, the contract demands of the 2019 league MVP have garnered significant attention as both parties strived to reach a long-term agreement.

The Ravens and Jackson were at an impasse, as he insisted on a fully guaranteed contract. In March, Baltimore imposed the non-exclusive franchise tag on Jackson, setting a deadline of July 17 for both sides to reach an extension agreement.

Jackson acknowledged the months of speculation and uncertainty surrounding his contract negotiations in a video posted on the Ravens’ official Twitter account.

“For the last few months, there has been a lot of he said, she said,” Jackson said in the video. “A lot of nail-biting. A lot of head-scratching going on.”

He expressed his excitement with the team for the next five years, holding up a football with the Ravens’ logo. “But for the next five years, it’s a lot of ‘flock’ going on,” he said.

Jackson’s prowess as a dual-threat quarterback has made him one of the most exciting players in the NFL.

Although he has suffered injuries in the last two seasons, and the Ravens have yet to reach the AFC championship game with him, analysts said his influence on the team’s offense is indisputable.