Ravens: What the Josh Allen extension means for Lamar Jackson

The Buffalo Bills officially paid their superstar quarterback, Josh Allen, on Friday. Next up — Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens?

For months now, the discussion has been which of the three quarterbacks from the 2018 NFL Draft class would receive their extension first. And also, how much would each of them get?

At least one of those questions was answered on Friday as Allen was inked to a record-breaking six-year, $258 million deal with an NFL-record $150 million in guarantees.

With Allen’s deal now in the books, the question now shifts to how much Jackson and Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield will be paid.

What will the Ravens pay Lamar Jackson now that Josh Allen has been extended?

Allen’s contract amounts to an average annual value (AAV) of $43 million per year which puts him behind just Patrick Mahomes for the largest AAV in the NFL.

That’s right about where he was expected to land, and it could serve as a benchmark for Jackson’s deal.

Allen was expected by many to be the highest-paid of the three quarterbacks, although Jackson’s largest bargaining chip has always been his 2019 MVP win.

If the Ravens were able to agree to a deal with Jackson prior to Allen’s contract, they may have been able to sign their superstar quarterback for less than what the Bills paid theirs.

But all bets are off now.

Allen’s contract has officially been signed, which means that Jackson and his representatives (not agent, of course) will certainly be demanding at least the $43 million that his fellow draft-mate received.

Will he get it though? That much remains to be seen.

The Dallas Cowboys signed Dak Prescott to a massive extension earlier this offseason — one that pays him an AAV of $40 million per year. Expect Jackson to, at the very least, surpass that mark.

Jackson is one of the NFL’s elite talents. He’s a former league MVP, only 24-years-old, one of the most electrifying stars the NFL has seen in decades (if not ever), and the centerpiece of the entire Ravens offense.

He has all of those things working in his favor. However, his lack of an agent could (and probably already has) slowed discussions.

The Ravens don’t want to give off the impression that they are taking advantage of their superstar quarterback. But they also don’t want to pay above market value when they don’t have to.

The best bet would probably be to model Jackson’s deal after Allen’s and go from there.

Lamar Jackson should sign his extension in the near future. And don’t be surprised if that contract looks eerily similar to Josh Allen’s.