It's been a wild last 24 hours for the Baltimore Ravens. They’ve lost a ton of talent in free agency, stunningly backed out of the Maxx Crosby trade, and pivoted by agreeing to terms with Trey Hendrickson. Now, they’ve finally made a move on Lamar Jackson’s contract, reworking it his lucrative deal.
It was reported that this move was made on Tuesday before the Crosby saga.
The #Ravens renegotiated Lamar Jackson’s contract YESTERDAY to create more cap room, multiple sources tell me.
— Aditi Kinkhabwala (@AKinkhabwala) March 11, 2026
They were clearly readying to onboard Maxx Crosby - until the medical assessment made the price of two first round picks too risky. https://t.co/D2fovIa3Jp
Jackson’s cap hit was set to hit $74.5 million in 2026. General manager Eric DeCosta mentioned they were making progress on an extension, but on Wednesday, it was announced that the Ravens opted for a rework instead. The move is expected to save them nearly $40 million in cap space, as Spotrac projects his cap hit to shrink to $34.5 million.
Reports signal an extension is still on the horizon. Spotrac’s projection would also raise Jackson’s 2027 cap hit to nearly $84.5 million, as well as push additional money down the line in void years. Regardless, at the moment, Baltimore has made a cap-saving move in resolving Jackson’s contract situation for now.
Baltimore Ravens free up a ton of cap space with Lamar Jackson contract decision
This was a painfully obvious move for the Ravens. While it just pushes the cap hit issue one year down the line, that $74.5 million number loomed over their free agency plans like a storm cloud. They weren’t going to have much wiggle room to make deals. After already losing a ton of talent in free agency and needing drastic roster improvements coming off a horrendous 2025 campaign, they needed that $40 million in cap space.
After reworking the contract, Baltimore has just over $60 million in cap space. That doesn’t include free agent agreements with John Simpson and Trey Hendrickson, nor the extension with Tyler Huntley. Regardless, even once those are accounted for, there should be a good chunk of cap flexibility coming the Ravens’ way.
The hope is that Jackson and Baltimore can eventually come to an agreement on a contract extension. However, with the new league year starting at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, they were running out of time to iron out the details on a new deal. With that in mind, they likely acted on a rework to free themselves up in free agent negotiations.
Ultimately, Jackson should become the league’s highest-paid player whenever his new contract comes. Despite an injury-riddled 2025, he remains one of the best players in the NFL and deserves to reset the market. For now, though, the two sides have settled on a contract restructure.