Baltimore Ravens center Tyler Linderbaum is widely considered one of the five best players in the NFL at his position. But despite the team knowing this, they still opted to decline his fifth-year option last off-season. Due to antiquated positional designations related to the NFL-NFLPA collective bargaining agreement, that option would have paid him in the neighborhood of $23.4 million in 2026.
That price tag would have outpaced the current highest-paid center, Creed Humphrey, by over $5 million. It also effectively set an upper limit for how much Baltimore was willing to pay their prized young center. With that decision, the team also put Linderbaum on a path headed straight for free agency.
The Ravens don't have the same leverage most teams do with prized young talent—the franchise tag. While Linderbaum's fifth-year option was expensive, the franchise tag is downright absurd at a projected $27.2 million.
Tyler Linderbaum's Contract Could Reset The Center Market At More Than $18 Million Per Year
If the team cannot reach an agreement with their star center, he can use the leverage of a free market to drive his price to the absolute maximum. And what could that maximum be? Spotrac expects him to receive a possible four-year, $70.7 million extension. At $17.7 million per year, Linderbaum would slot just behind Humphrey on the center market.
But if Linderbaum leverages free agency, he could clear $18 million per year by comping some earlier center deals. Specifically, over the past three years, Linderbaum's production has looked eerily similar to that of former Detroit Lions center Frank Ragnow's 2018-2020 stretch, which led to his 2021 extension.
*Note these metrics extrapolate out the rest of Linderbaum's 2025 to a full season.
Player | Age | Draft Round | Games | Total Snaps | Pressures Allowed | Pressure Rate Allowed | PFF Pass Block Grade | PFF Run Block Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tyler Linderbaum (2023-2025) | 26.4 | 1 | 49 | 3,006 | 60 | 3.58% | 67.3 | 81.8 |
Frank Ragnow (2018-2020) | 25.3 | 1 | 45 | 3,001 | 63 | 3.29% | 70.3 | 77.9 |
Ragnow parlayed that performance into a four-year, $54 million contract in 2021. That year was a one-off in terms of the league salary cap, as the cap reduced from $198.2 million to $182.5 million before pushing back up to $208.2 million in 2022. In order to properly evaluate and compare contracts in 2021, it's best to use a modified $203.2 million cap as a place marker.
Using that place marker, Ragnow's $13.5 million APY represented 6.64% of the cap in the year of signing. The salary cap next year should push to at least $300 million. Ragnow's contract brought forward to 2026 would push his APY to the $19.5 - $20 million range.
That's where his next deal could be: four years and $78 million with $52 million total guaranteed and $35 million fully guaranteed. Without the threat of the franchise tag, the Ravens won't have much recourse to prevent Linderbaum from extracting this market-setting deal unless they want to lose him altogether. Because there will not be a shortage of teams looking for quality center play.
The state of center play in the NFL isn't too dissimilar to that of linebackers. There are a few elite players, a large drop-off to an average tier, and then many below-average options. Linderbaum is part of the top tier and could find suitors willing to pay top dollar in the Houston Texans, Los Angeles Chargers, and Las Vegas Raiders, among others.
The Ravens made the right choice when they selected Linderbaum with the 25th overall pick of the 2022 NFL Draft. And in the NFL, good draft decisions eventually require expensive contract decisions. That's exactly what the Ravens need to do now.