The Baltimore Ravens have officially announced a five-year deal with QB Lamar Jackson.
Ian Rapoport tweets the deal makes Jackson the NFL’s highest-paid player.
And Josina Anderson says the deal is worth $260 million with $185 million guaranteed.
Our original story is below.
A little bit of non-draft news for you guys today, though it’s not directly Pittsburgh Steelers-related. According to multiple media reports, the Baltimore Ravens have reached a long-term deal with QB Lamar Jackson. Minutes ago, the deal was reportedly progressing. Now, it’s done.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter threw a dab of cold water on the report, saying it’s not official but that it will get done soon.
Rapoport followed that up with more news, saying the Ravens upped their offense after the Philadelphia Eagles inked Jalen Hurts’ five-year, $255 million contract earlier this month.
The Ravens and Jackson had seemingly been at a standstill for a long-term deal. Baltimore placed the non-exclusive franchise tag on him in March, opening the door for other teams to submit offer sheets. To date, no team has. Jackson reportedly wanted a fully guaranteed deal, something the Ravens aren’t open to doing, though it’s unclear what the terms of this new deal entail.
Jackson and new teammate WR Odell Beckham Jr. had hinted at big news in recent days, taking to Twitter to sub-tweet about the news. Even the Ravens’ official Twitter account has gotten in on the fun.
Despite a public back-and-forth and questions about Jackson’s future, him staying in Baltimore always felt like the most likely option. The team’s former first round pick in 2018, Jackson is a NFL MVP and two-time Pro Bowler. But he’s been hampered by injuries to end each of the last two year’s, causing the Ravens’ offense – and their season – to collapse.
Knowing all that, the Ravens will bet on him to stay healthy in the future and lead the Ravens’ franchise going forward. Meaning Steelers’ fans will see Jackson for the foreseeable future, assuming he doesn’t get hurt again, at least, though Pittsburgh has had more success versus Jackson than most other quarterbacks in the league. Part of that is the extreme attention they place on him in the run game, which has allowed Baltimore’s running backs to tear through the Steelers’ defense in recent years.
We’ll update this post when the deal has been officially announced and what the initial terms are.
For his career, Jackson has thrown for over 12,000 yards with 101 passing touchdowns. He’s rushed for over 4400 yards and another 24 touchdowns.
