Since becoming the full-time starting QB of the Baltimore Ravens in 2019, Lamar Jackson has won two NFL MVP awards. He probably should have won a third last year, but we know how those NFL voters get fatigued. Before earning his second MVP following the 2023 campaign, Jackson had negotiated his own record-breaking extension. The deal was for five years and $260 million, including $185 million in guaranteed money.
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At the time of signing, his deal ranked second all-time in total value and total guarantees. Most importantly, the $52 million per year average was the highest in NFL history. However, just three months later, he was surpassed by Justin Herbert. A couple of months after that, Joe Burrow landed an even bigger deal. There are now eight QBs—some of whom haven’t even won a playoff game—who have signed larger contracts than Jackson.
No doubt Jackson’s next one will make him the highest-paid player again, but he’s still got three more years on his deal. So, he’ll have to wait to surpass Dak Prescott’s $60 million per year. Or… will he?
Because of the enormous cap hits for Jackson in 2026 and 2027, the Ravens could negotiate that massive extension much earlier than expected, according to Ari Meirov.
“He needs a new contract already. After this season, he’s gonna have two more years left. The problem here for Baltimore is more where he is from a cap standpoint and how they structured that contract. After this year, his cap hit for the final two years are $74.5 million in each of those two years. That is way too big of a number,” said the 33rd Team journalist.
#Ravens QB Lamar Jackson has cap hits of $74.5M in both 2026 and 2027. An easy way to lower that is with an extension — and if that happens, Lamar should become the highest-paid player in NFL history, surpassing Dak Prescott’s $60M per year.
Full contract extensions episode:… https://t.co/XGQFZSTnoB pic.twitter.com/mPviRYqqSy
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) May 5, 2025
Meirov reminded us that earlier this offseason, Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said pretty clearly that Lamar Jackson was going to get an extension. He didn’t say when, but it goes without saying that when he does sign on the dotted line again, it will be for more than the $60 million Dak Prescott is currently getting as the highest-paid player.
The NFL insider also explained that NFL teams are thinking several years ahead when it comes to the salary cap. With that in mind, they will be looking at those $70+ million cap hits in the next two years and thinking about the best way to spread that out. An early extension seems like the obvious answer.
“So if they wanna do that now, I think it would be wise of them to get ahead of it. For people who don’t know, NFL teams, they budget three years in advance from a cash standpoint and a cap standpoint. If you look at the salary cap book right now in Baltimore, you have that big quarterback number at $74.5 million in 2026 and $74.5 million in 2027 from your cap. So I don’t think they want to have that big of a number.”
It’s worth noting that Jackson is one of the few players without an agent. He and his mom handle his contract negotiations. In 2023, when they were trying to hammer out a deal, the two sides rubbed each other the wrong way a little bit, as it took about six weeks to figure it all out. This one is likely to go a lot smoother after Lamar won his second MVP.
There will be those out there considering going with the argument that Lamar Jackson doesn’t even deserve an extension because he hasn’t performed well in the postseason. Of the eight guys ahead of Jackson in AAV right now, Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, and Joe Burrow are stamped.
However, the other five—Jordan Love (1 playoff win), Trevor Lawrence (1), Dak Prescott (2), Tua Tagovailoa (o), Justin Herbert (0)—would honestly make a $61-$62 million AAV for Jackson seem like a bargain.
