The Ravens and Lamar Jackson spent the better part of two years very publicly negotiating a new contract. On Thursday — draft day — they finally came to terms.
Jackson and the Ravens agreed to a five-year contract worth a reported $260 million, making him the highest-paid player in the NFL by average annual salary. The deal also includes a reported $185 million in guarantees, second-most among players behind Deshaun Watson's $230 million.
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Jackson, who played out the fifth year of his rookie deal last season after turning down an extension offer from the Ravens in the preseason, reportedly got $10 million more in guaranteed money than from that initial offer, per NFL Media's Tom Pelissero.
The Ravens negotiated directly with Jackson, who represents himself. The Ravens placed a non-exclusive franchise tag on him earlier in the offseason, meaning he could negotiate with other teams. He followed up with a trade request in March. In late April, Jackson and the Ravens ultimately found common ground.
How did Ravens, Lamar Jackson come to agreement on contract?
Details of the Ravens' negotiations with Jackson are sparse, but according to NFL Media's Ian Rapoport, the Jalen Hurts contract provided clarity as to what could get a deal done.
MORE: Lamar Jackson, Ravens end contract stalemate with massive extension
The Eagles signed Hurts to a five-year, $255 million contract with $179.3 million guaranteed. That, according to Rapoport, acted as a catalyst for the Ravens.
Once Jalen Hurts' deal got done, Baltimore stepped up and offered him a deal that trumped it. https://t.co/5bGKWK0CDl
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 27, 2023
"These two sides have been in intense negotiations for not just the last several days, but really the last several months," Rapoport said on NFL Network. "Once Jalen Hurts got his deal, Baltimore stepped up, offered more and essentially made Lamar Jackson an offer he could not refuse."
Breaking news: Lamar Jackson has his mega-deal. pic.twitter.com/KGhR8PWDP8
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 27, 2023
Although the money was good, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported the deal also got done because Jackson wasn't happy with what he was seeing on the open market.
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"They talked about five-year deals back in September," Schefter said. "They talked about three-year deals during the offseason. . . . This was the deal that made sense for both sides. And they struggled to come up with a deal for two years. But really, Lamar Jackson had a chance to test free agency. The market, I don't believe, was what he thought it would be, for whatever reason."
.@AdamSchefter has the latest on Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens reaching an agreement on a 5-year contract extension: pic.twitter.com/YI0sgjgWW0
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) April 27, 2023
In summation, Jackson didn't like what he saw in free agency, but in a bit of serendipity, the Hurts contract prompted the Ravens to make a new and improved offer.
