If everything goes right for 2-time NFL Most Valuable Player and Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, one year from now we’re going to be talking about a player on a collision course with contract riches unlike anyone in NFL history.
Bleacher Report’s Moe Moton singled out Jackson as the “Most Important Contract Decision” looming for the Ravens headed into 2025 even though he almost certainly won’t get his next contract extension until the summer of 2026.
Jackson famously negotiated his own 5-year, $260 million contract extension in the spring of 2023 without an agent — famous now because of the collusion we now know occurred in regards to the deal after the Ravens made Jackson a restricted free agent and only got him back after he received zero offers from any of the other 31 NFL teams.
“In June, Jackson chose not to comment about his contract situation with the Ravens, but something is brewing on that front,” Moton wrote on August 3. ” … (Jackson) is the 10th-highest-paid quarterback in terms of average annual salary (in 2025). One can easily argue that the two-time league MVP, coming off his best passing season with career-high numbers, is underpaid. Baltimore will likely make him the league’s highest-paid player this summer.”
What New Contract for Jackson Might Look Like
Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott is currently the highest paid NFL quarterback with a 4-year, $240 million contract signed before the 2024 season that pays him $60 million per year.
If we are making an educated decision on what Jackson’s deal might look like, it’s probably somewhere in the range of a 4-year, $260 million contract extension that would pay him $65 million per year. There’s a chance the market could hop up even more than that and land him closer to $70 million per year.
Jackson’s current deal runs through the 2027 season and is scheduled to pay him $42.75 million in 2025 and $52 million each in 2026 and 2027.
Jackson’s Super Bowl Pursuit Takes On Epic Meaning
Jackson’s failure to make it to a Super Bowl despite winning 2 NFL MVP awards through his first 6 seasons as a full time starter seems to take one even greater meaning every year.
The Ravens are once again Super Bowl contenders in 2025 after going 13-4 in 2023 and 12-5 in 2024. Baltimore was knocked out by the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Divisional Round last season and by the Kansas City Chiefs at home in the AFC Championship Game following the 2023 season.
The Ravens had 3 turnovers in the loss to the Bills, including 2 by Jackson, who only threw 4 interceptions during the regular season.
“I have to get over this because we’re right there,” Jackson told ESPN’s Jamison Hensley following the loss to the Bills. “I’m tired of being right there, we need to punch it in. We need to punch in that ticket. We have to get right in the offseason.”
After setting the NFL career rushing record for quarterbacks in 2024, the Pro Football Reference Hall of Fame Monitor (HOFm) puts him at No. 26 in NFL history for his position with an 81.40 rating. That’s ahead of 7 quarterbacks already in the Hall of Fame, including Warren Moon (71.30), Joe Namath (70.00), Troy Aikman (64.28) and Jim Kelly (59.10).
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