Ravens Discussing Lamar Jackson Contract Extension: ‘He’s Going To Be The Highest-Paid Player In Football’

Baltimore Ravens head coach Jim Harbaugh revealed Monday that the team has had internal conversations about an extension for superstar quarterback Lamar Jackson.

Jackson, 28, set an NFL record with his last contract in 2023. Since that five-year, $260 million deal, Jackson has won his second MVP award and come close to another, and the quarterback market has been reset a few more times. The current most lucrative contract in the NFL was signed last month, as Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen is set to make $330 million over the next six years.

The Ravens will likely look to seal a deal with Jackson before next off-season when his salary cap hit jumps. “You just got to manage the salary cap dance, and Lamar is the main part of that because he’s the franchise player,” Harbaugh said. “Sooner or later, that’s definitely going to have to happen.”

Jackson threw for 4,172 yards in 2024 and rushed for another 900, putting up 41 touchdowns and just four interceptions. He finished with a rating of 119.6 rating despite a lackluster receiving corps, completing two-thirds of his passes to cap off another MVP-caliber season, finishing second behind Allen in voting.

Asked to put a value on Jackson’s potential contract, Harbaugh was effusive. “The value is the top,” he said. “When Lamar gets paid, he’s going to be the highest-paid player in football, just like he was last time. I think every contract he signs probably until he decides to hang up his cleats, he’s going to be that guy.”

The only limiting factor on Jackson’s value seems to be the postseason. Despite leading the Ravens to sparkling regular-season records over the past few seasons, Jackson is 3-5 in the playoffs over the course of his career and has given up 11 playoff turnovers in that time – the most of any quarterback over that span. He’s never advanced past the conference championship.

Following another tough postseason loss, though, the Ravens clearly don’t see their quarterback as the problem.

“He works hard, and he’s got a growth mindset, and he wants to be better,” Harbaugh said. “That’s the thing. That’s what I love about Lamar Jackson. He just wants to improve all the time. He’s never satisfied, and he talks about winning the Super Bowl, and when he wins a Super Bowl — not if, but when he wins a Super Bowl — he’s still not going to be satisfied. He’s going to want to get another one, and that’s just the way he’s built.”

Whatever happens, it seems inevitable that Jackson will sign another record-setting contract in the next year. Harbaugh and the Ravens will have to hope that he’ll earn it with a Super Bowl.