The Baltimore Ravens have checked most of their items off their offseason checklist. They hired a new head coach in Jesse Minter, who brings immense upside to Charm City, signed their game-changing pass rusher, Trey Hendrickson, and protected Lamar Jackson with two massive guard additions, John Simpson and Vega Ioane.
However, it’s hard to ignore one of the biggest question marks still remaining after their busy offseason. No, I’m not talking about the center situation after the departure of Tyler Linderbaum. I’m talking about Lamar Jackson’s contract dilemma.
The Ravens were eager to get an extension done with Jackson, but opted to rewwork his deal in March. However, his unfathomable cap hit remains complicated at $84.34 million in 2027. They know they need to solve that.
According to Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox, he projects a resolution to the tune of a three-year, $181 million contract. Knox wrote:
“Jackson is currently under contract through 2027 at a rate of $52 million annually, but his cap hit will jump to $84.3 million next season. Baltimore will need to work out a new deal by next spring, but waiting until then could also be problematic.”
“It may behoove the Ravens to extend Jackson, who was not present for early OTAs, now. And convincing Jackson to sign early could involve making him the league's highest-paid player.”
Baltimore Ravens would be wise to solve Lamar Jackson problem ahead of the 2026 season
At the start of the offseason, if you were to ask any Ravens front office member about Lamar Jackson’s contract, the answer would have been to extend him ahead of the regular season. That hasn’t come yet, and after their decision to restructure his deal, that’s looking less likely in 2026. Sure, they’ve remained committed to getting a new contract set in stone soon, but you’d be lying if you said the situation wasn’t getting interesting.
At this point, Baltimore really can’t afford to wait any longer. If they wait another offseason, they’d be playing with fire. That’d be the end of the line. There’d be no more wiggle room to push the money further back, as 2027 is the final year of his current deal. It’s time to get him locked into another deal, and at 29 years old, adding another three years as Knox suggests, should be exactly what the Ravens want.
If Jackson were to ink a three-year, $181 million contract, that’d keep him in Baltimore through his age-33 season. It’d be smart to reset the timeline now, and then come back to the negotiation table as he approaches his mid-30s. And as much as some Ravens fans might not want to admit it, it could be a bit of a risk if they opted to go any longer on the deal. I’m not questioning his ability; he’s an MVP-caliber quarterback, but the injuries are a valid question. They took a toll on him in 2025.
In terms of salary, Knox’s projected contract would make Jackson the highest-paid player in the NFL at just over $60 million per year. Clearly, Baltimore would be taking care of the two-time MVP in that case. And for the organization, they’d ease the pressure of Jackson’s cap hit off their shoulders, while also not giving him an overly expensive deal. It’d be the best-case scenario.
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