Jamison HensleyESPN Staff Writer21:21 BST4 Minute Read
Lamar Jackson sends message to Ravens fans after agreeing to 5-year extension
Lamar Jackson shares his excitement with Ravens fans after securing a five-year contract extension.
OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Within a month, quarterback Lamar Jackson went from wanting to leave Baltimore to signing the biggest deal in Ravens history.
Consider it another of Jackson’s mind-blowing spin moves.
After 27 months of challenging negotiations, Jackson finalized a five-year deal with the Ravens Thursday, the team announced.
The deal is valued at $260 million, a source told ESPN, making Jackson the league’s highest-paid player at $52 million a year. It includes $185 million in guaranteed money, the source said.
Sources previously said Jackson is seeking the $230 million in guaranteed money Deshaun Watson received from the Cleveland Browns last year. Kyler Murray received a $189.5 million guarantee from the Cardinals as part of his $230.5 million overtime.
“He’s said a lot over the past few months, she said,” Jackson said in a video posted by the Ravens to their Twitter account. “A lot of nail biting. Lots of head scratching going on.”
Jackson then held up a football with a Ravens logo and said, “But there’s a lot of ‘flock’ going on in the next five years.”
Jackson, who represented himself in the negotiations, landed his deal 10 days after Jalen Hurts signed a five-year, $255 million contract extension, including $180 million guaranteed. The agreement also came just before the start of the NFL draft, when the Ravens could have picked a quarterback in the first round.
Last month, the Ravens placed Jackson the non-exclusive franchise tag that allowed him to negotiate with other teams and gave Baltimore the right to match any signed offer sheet. But no team showed any public interest in him.
Still, it appeared the sides were headed for a divorce on March 27, when Jackson announced he’d requested a trade just before coach John Harbaugh spoke to reporters at the NFL’s annual meeting. Jackson wrote on Twitter that the Ravens were “not interested in meeting my worth” in contract talks.
Now Jackson is in position to fulfill his draft day promise to the Ravens. It’s been five years and a day since Jackson announced, after being picked with the last pick of the first round, “You’re going to get a Super Bowl out of me, believe that.”
Jackson turned a franchise that had missed the playoffs three straight seasons back into a winner. His career record of 45-16 (.738) is the fourth-best of any starting quarterback to debut in the Super Bowl era.
In 2019, his first full season as a starter, Jackson became the second unanimous selection as the NFL MVP. He led the NFL in touchdown passes (36) and set the league record for most rushing yards by a quarterback (1,206).
But Jackson’s performance has been hampered by injuries and uneven play lately. In the last two seasons, he threw 33 touchdowns and 20 interceptions and missed 11 games, including a 24-17 playoff loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.
Despite the lack of progress in contract negotiations over the years, Ravens officials have repeatedly remained optimistic that a deal would materialize. Earlier this month, Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta said, “He’s the right player for this team to take us to where we want to be.”
Now the Ravens know Jackson will stay in Baltimore for another five years.