The Baltimore Ravens have spoken about a Lamar Jackson extension, but he could be biding his time for a larger deal.
The Baltimore Ravens have emphatically said that Lamar Jackson is their franchise quarterback, and that remains the belief. Both owner Steve Bisciotti and general manager Eric Decosta have both commented on keeping Jackson with the team.
They went so far as to bring Jackson in for consulting on the head coach search, with DeCosta saying how much of a joy it was to work with Jackson on that front. That said, it stands to reason they would have already hammered a new deal out, but it could be that the quarterback is waiting to cash in on a larger extension.
The Ravens and Jackson agreed to a restructured deal, converting his large $74.5 million cap hit in 2026 to a signing bonus and adding a void year. This move will also skyrocket his cap hit in 2027 to $84.49 million.
Baltimore will clearly not want to pay that number, so they will be looking to give Jackson a new extension during the 2027 offseason. They may have discussed a new deal in 2026, but it would make more sense for the passer to patiently wait.
The 2025 season was not a good showing for Jackson, who suffered a significant hamstring injury, along with knee, toe, and other ailments as the year went on. He is expected to bounce back in a big way, which could lead to a better deal.
Baltimore taking a huge cap hit would give Jackson the leverage already, but playing like his normal MVP self would also sweeten the deal in a big way. Back in 2023, he forced a larger deal by requesting a trade, which led to a five-year, $260 million deal.
More impressive is that Jackson does not use an agent and negotiates the deals for himself. Considering his potential strong performance in 2026, the Ravens would have to award him a sizeable deal once again.
ESPN's Jeremy Fowler also spoke about this, pointing to the franchise tag clause in Jackson's contract.
"Jackson is slated to be a free agent in March 2028 and has a clause in his contract that prevents the Ravens from placing the franchise tag on him," Fowler said.
This is an important detail because it puts the power in Jackson's hands. He cannot be pressured to accept anything like a franchise tag due to his contract clause.
This means the Ravens cannot play hardball and try to get a deal that favors the team. That is not to say that Jackson is not a team-first and organization-first type of player, but he also knows how to protect himself and his play, per the deal he struck for himself the first time around.
The Ravens may want to get a deal done asap before the quarterback market experiences another surge, but Jackson also does not need to be impatient in this matter. He can simply wait out the 2026 season and use his own performance as a measuring stick to leverage another mega deal for himself.
Considering his play as of late, albeit without the 2025 season in mind, the two-time MVP is a generational talent and should be paid as such. This would especially be true if the team can finally get over the hump and make it to the Super Bowl in 2026.
Then again, there could also be the situation where Jackson wants to see where the Ravens are going after so many free agent losses, and a new era under Jesse Minter.
If he feels that the organization is not getting him the pieces to truly succeed, the immense number of rumors that he could play elsewhere may finally be proven true.