The Ravens just signed Kyle Hamilton to a massive new contract, but what about Lamar Jackson, their most important player? Earlier this offseason, the team made clear that when he signs a new deal, he will be the highest-paid player in the NFL. That title currently belongs to the Cowboys’ Dak Prescott, who is earning $60 million per season.
With the clock swiftly ticking toward the regular season, where do the Ravens stand with Lamar Jackson’s contract? GM Eric DeCosta addressed the topic yesterday, albeit briefly and largely evasively. Jackson is currently under contract through the 2027 season, with cap hits of $74,500,000 in 2026 and 2027.
“Those are ongoing”, DeCosta said when asked about the contract status of Jackson and C Tyler Linderbaum, via the Ravens’ website. “I like to work kind of in the dark, quietly and try and get as much done as we can. We’ve got a lot of different things going on”.
The Ravens selected Lamar Jackson in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft. They have advanced to the playoffs in six of his seven seasons, though they lack postseason success. The Ravens under Jackson have yet to win multiple postseason games in a season. They have advanced to the conference finals just once. Since 2020, they have lost to the Bills twice and the Chiefs and Bengals once in playoff games. They beat the Steelers in the Wild Card Round during the 2024 season.
Asked about Jackson’s substantial cap figures after this season, DeCosta declined to divulge any information about how the Ravens intend to address the ballooning figure. “I think it’s good to keep these kinds of things with the players and these business things as quiet as possible”, he said. “That’ll continue to be the way we operate, generally speaking. I really wouldn’t want to get into any specifics in regard to any of our players in their contract negotiations right now because I think it hurts the process”.
Jackson is a four-time Pro Bowler, three-time first-team All-Pro, and two-time NFL MVP. He finished second in MVP voting last year behind Josh Allen, though he had an extremely strong case for having had the better season.
On the year, Jackson posted his greatest passing numbers. On 316-of-474 passing, he threw for 4,172 yards with 41 touchdowns to just 4 interceptions. He ranked first in the NFL with 8.8 yards per attempt. He also had the highest touchdown percentage and the highest quarterback rating at 119.6. In addition to his passing, he rushed for 915 yards with 4 touchdowns.
The Ravens have won the AFC North in four of Jackson’s seven seasons, during two of which he missed substantial time due to injury. When healthy, he has proven to be one of the most valuable players in the NFL. Although he remains polarizing, nobody can dispute his 70-24 regular-season record. His final frontier is making headway in the playoffs, though Josh Allen has similar problems. Or rather, a similar problem: Patrick Mahomes.
