The Baltimore Ravens and Lamar Jackson have finally come to terms on a five-year, $260 million extension deal. The new contract arrangement puts an end to months of negotiating and rampant speculation around the league involving the star quarterback.
Jackson’s new deal comes 10 days after Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts received a remarkably similar deal for five years and $255 million. After some reported hesitation within Baltimore’s organization about offering Jackson a long-term deal, the two sides seem to have come to an agreement by slightly raising the ceiling on Hurts’ deal.
Without an agent representing him, Jackson has been negotiating the terms of his extension personally and refused to take a deal that did not include guaranteed money. Though it is unclear how much of Jackson’s contract will be guaranteed, Hurts’ deal included $110 million guaranteed upon signing and an additional $16 million after March 2024. It is reasonable to expect Jackson to receive a similar arrangement.
Before eventually reaching a deal with Jackson, the Ravens did make several signings in an attempt to appease him in negotiations. The most prominent of these was wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., who Jackson had reportedly been recruiting to play for the team. Beckham signed a one-year deal worth up to $18 million earlier this month.
Because Jackson was representing himself, some began to suspect collusion between NFL team owners at certain points in negotiations, as it appeared that multiple teams were withdrawing themselves from consideration to sign the quarterback despite a serious need at the position. The 2019 MVP received no interest from the Falcons, Panthers, Raiders, Dolphins, Commanders or others, even as many of those teams were in the process of looking for options at quarterback. Some teams even released statements expressing their lack of interest.
In any case, Jackson and the Ravens now seem to be in agreement, with the quarterback announcing the deal on the Ravens’ Twitter account Thursday afternoon. Jackson has suffered a number of setbacks in recent years due to injuries, but when healthy, he has proven to be one of the most effective quarterbacks in the league.
