Now that the Ravens have worked out a tentative deal to bring edge rusher extraordinaire Maxx Crosby to Baltimore, the next order of business is clear.
Get an extension done with quarterback Lamar Jackson.
Owner Steve Bisciotti said in January that the Ravens want to make it happen before the start of the league year. That’s when Jackson’s cap number skyrockets from $43.5 million to $74.5 million. Bisciotti added that, absent a new contract, the Ravens will simply exercise their prerogative to kick the cap can via a simple restructuring. (Of course, that would only drive up the current $74.5 million in 2027, the final year of his current contract.)
Jackson has wanted an adjustment to his pay for months. His $52.5 million APY — a record when his deal was done three years ago — has slipped all the way to No. 10. And while it’s one thing to be behind Dak Prescott, Josh Allen, and Joe Burrow, Jackson now trails the likes of Trevor Lawrence, Jordan Love, Tua Tagovailoa, Jared Goff, Brock Purdy, and Justin Herbert.
Between the nine guys in front of him, there’s one total NFL MVP award. Jackson alone has two.
The hidden 61-page collusion grievance, once revealed, shed plenty of light on the struggles the Ravens had in getting his latest deal done. That one finally came after his five-year rookie contract expired, after the Ravens had franchise-tagged Jackson, and after the Ravens reiterated their best offer to Jackson with an explanation that they needed to know whether he would be taking it before the 2023 draft (a not-so-subtle hint that they would have possibly drafted his eventual replacement). Currently, Jackson has two years left at a total payout of $104 million (if he earns his $1.5 million in workout bonuses).
He can play it out and become a free agent in 2028, if he wants. It gives him real leverage in any talks that have happened or that will be happening.
Either way, the clock is ticking toward the $74.5 million cap number. It will either be a new contract or an automatic restructuring.
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