Before the season opener against the New York Jets, it was expected that the Baltimore Ravens would have Lamar Jackson’s contract sorted out. However, this didn’t come to fruition, in fact, for Raven fans, this may be concerning. Throughout, the entirety of the contract process the Baltimore Ravens have kept things extremely private, as well as, Jackson. According to Reported to Chris Mortensen and Adam Schefterfor ESPN, Jackson declined a five-year contract extension valued at over $250 million, with $133 million guaranteed.
Hypothetically speaking, this contract would have gone through the 2027 season assuring stability for the Baltimore Ravens going forward. As of now, there’s uncertainty throughout the league let alone the Ravens. This season, the Baltimore Ravens are forced to franchise tag him and risk losing Jackson to free agency this offseason. The offer proposed to Jackson would have been a higher average than Broncos QB Russell Wilson and Cardinals QB Kyler Murray.
Is Lamar Jackson being unreasonable with the Baltimore Ravens?
Ravens appear to be baffled that Jackson turned down their offer due to not having all of his money guaranteed. Jackson appears to want to mimic Browns QB Deshaun Watson’s contract; however, he may be reaching for the stars. Without having much playoff success nor an MVP, Watson has still proven to be a much better QB and leader than Jackson. Sadly, Jackson will be literally under a “contract year”.
One can only hope he doesn’t get hurt because this will affect the outcome of his contract the following season. In fact, most stars tend to sit out to not risk injury but Lamar Jackson loves the game of football so much.
“It was a major risk last season. The previous year,” Jackson said on Wednesday. “I’m just playing football. Anything can happen. God forbid the wrong thing happens.”
While many believe Jackson is wrong for approaching the contract negotiations this way, the NFLPA thinks otherwise. They believe due to his performance level on the field along with his very young age. He’s gaining support from others around the NFL. Lamar Jackson will still have to play out his contract and attempt to test the market in the offseason.
