Lamar Jackson’s contract has been the center of attention when it comes to the Baltimore Ravens over the past year or so. With a huge offseason looming for Jackson, let’s examine his rookie contract and salary situation, as well as what we may see in terms of Jackson’s next deal and his current net worth.
Lamar Jackson’s Contract Details
After being selected with the final pick of the first round in the 2018 NFL Draft, Jackson signed a four-year deal worth $9.472 million. His deal contained a $4.968 million signing bonus, which was part of $7.575 million in guarantees. Additionally, being a first-round selection gave the Ravens a fifth-round option, which they exercised in 2021, ahead of Jackson’s fourth season.
That fifth-round option paid Jackson a fully guaranteed $23.016 million in base salary. The price of that fifth-round option was set based on Jackson’s performances in his first three seasons. With his Pro Bowl selection in 2019, Jackson fell into the third of four salary buckets. If he had a second Pro Bowl selection, then he could have earned an even higher fifth-year salary.
Does Jackson Have any Bonuses in His Contract?
With Jackson playing on a fifth-year option in 2022, there are no bonuses or incentives as part of the deal. His original contract had a signing bonus, but that was it.
What Could Jackson’s Next Contract Look Like?
It was interesting to hear that before the 2022 season, Jackson turned down a deal reportedly worth at least $50 million a year over at least five years. That is an extremely intriguing decision from Jackson, given that Aaron Rodgers’ $50.272 million a year deal is currently the highest average annual value in the league at the QB position.
The belief at the time the deal was rejected by Jackson is that he was looking for a comparable deal to Deshaun Watson’s in terms of getting $230 million in fully guaranteed money. It will be interesting to see how Jackson’s next contract plays out in terms of fully guaranteed money compared to average annual value.
An injury costing Jackson the final few weeks of the 2022 NFL season has likely not helped his negotiation power in terms of seeking a fully guaranteed deal. However, the struggles of the Ravens’ offense in his absence have likely increased the desire for them to keep Jackson in Baltimore. Spotrac currently places Jackson’s market value at around $40.7 million.
The other element that comes into play is a potential franchise tag for Jackson. The current projections for the non-exclusive franchise tag place the value at around $32.45 million. Meanwhile, an exclusive franchise tag would likely come in closer to $45-47 million. If the Ravens go for the non-exclusive route with Jackson, we could see an intriguing situation this offseason.
If the Ravens go down the franchise tag route, they would have to pay Jackson 120% of that value if they franchise-tagged him again in 2024. The value of those tags would be around $39 million for the non-exclusive and $56.4 million for the exclusive tag.
Jackson’s Net Worth
Depending on the source, Jackson’s net worth was placed at around $4-6 million entering the 2022 season. With earnings of more than $23 million this past season, that has likely increased considerably since those estimates. While Jackson’s net worth will not directly reflect that salary, we can expect the next net worth estimates to be in the region of at least $10 million.
Over the course of his five-year career, Jackson has earned $32.488 million. With the fifth-year option being paid entirely as base salary, $27.519 million of his total earnings have come through base salary. There is then just under $5 million that was paid as a rookie contract signing bonus.