The Baltimore Ravens and two-time MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson could be venturing into treacherous waters.
Currently entering the fourth year of a five-year extension worth $260 million that he signed in 2023, Jackson is due for another extension. But it all comes down to whether the Ravens continue to see themselves as a fit for both what Jackson wants and what they want.
Ravens Must Address Lamar Jackson’s Contract
Matters aren’t headed to a sloppy divorce. At least not yet. Jackson is still under center for the Ravens, and he’s aiming to rebound from an injury-plagued 2025 campaign that saw him appear more human than the almost supernatural, dual-threat player he’s been throughout his career.
2026 will mark the last year that Jackson is under contract with a relatively manageable cap hit. His $34.39 million charge this coming season is expensive, but it’s about what you’d expect for a player of Jackson’s caliber.
However, that number more than doubles to $84.34 million in 2027. Having his contract on the books at that number would simply be bad business, so now, the Ravens will have to determine if they want that to be someone else’s problem.
They’ll either sign Jackson to another long-term extension and effectively lower his cap number, trade him, or just bite the bullet and deal with the massive figure while he plays out the final two years of his contract and enters free agency in the spring of 2028.
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“Do the Ravens really wanna do it?” asks Mike Florio in Thursday’s episode of “Pro Football Talk.”
“Look, Lamar’s one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time, and I know that someone out there, possibly someone who covers the Ravens, is gonna cut a clip of this and put it on social media and bash me for it, and I really don’t give a [expletive] if you do,” Florio added. “The point is, at some time in the relationship with Lamar Jackson, the Ravens are going to make a long-term decision about how long this lasts.”
“They did it with Joe Flacco, who won a Super Bowl with the Ravens,” he continued. “They went out and got Lamar Jackson when Joe Flacco still had plenty of gas in the tank, because they saw an opportunity to significantly upgrade the position, and they did.”
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Jackson is on the heels of a season in which he threw for 2,549 yards, 21 touchdowns, and seven interceptions across 13 starts, a significant step back from the historically dominant 41-touchdown, four-interception campaign he put together in 2024. He rushed 67 times for 349 yards and a pair of touchdowns, which were career lows in all three categories.
It was a far cry from the player he was the year prior, when he threw for 4,172 yards with 41 touchdowns and four interceptions, posted a passer rating of 119.6, and became the first player in NFL history to throw 40 or more passing touchdowns with fewer than five interceptions in a single season. If those days are now behind Jackson, the Ravens will have to make a calculated gamble.
📊 Fantasy football redraft QB rankings, per PFN’s Fantasy Sports HQ:
1. Josh Allen, Bills
2. Drake Maye, Patriots
3. Lamar Jackson, Ravens
4. Joe Burrow, Bengals
5. Jayden Daniels, Commanders
6. Jalen Hurts, Eagles
7. Jaxson Dart, Giants
8. Justin Herbert, Chargers
9. Dak… pic.twitter.com/BfnKjv9CYG— Pro Football Network (@PFN365) June 16, 2026
“He’s got leverage,” Florio said. “His leverage is, ‘Hey, man, I’ll be a free agent in less than two years. I’ve got two more seasons, 34 regular-season games to play, and then I can go anywhere I want.’ People around the league have believed for a long time that he wants to play for the Dolphins, his hometown of Miami. Oh, and Malik Willis, they’ve committed two years to him as a practical matter under his contract.”
“Look, I don’t think Lamar Jackson is gonna slow down, and I don’t think he’s going to suddenly become anything other than a top-five quarterback, but you’re going to have the Ravens thinking about the future. You’ve got Lamar, who has to be thinking about the present, and the future, and where this is all heading.”
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According to PFSN’s NFL QB Impact Metric, Jackson posted an impact score of 79.2 last season, ranking 12th in the league during his injury-interrupted 2025 campaign despite his statistical decline, a reflection of his floor even when things are not going well.
The Ravens were hardly dominant last season, ultimately paving the way for their demise and their failure to win the AFC North. They fell short of the postseason for just the second time in Jackson’s eight-year career
Wherever Jackson and the Ravens are headed, this should unfold differently than it did three years ago. The Ravens placed the non-exclusive tag on Jackson when he was a restricted free agent, which allowed other teams to sign him to an offer sheet and potentially acquire his services. No team even made an offer, prompting speculation that there was some form of conspiracy going on against Jackson. So much so that the NFL Players Association filed a collusion grievance against the league’s owners.
“Lamar holds many more cards in this conversation than folks realize because of that contract that allows him to become a true free agent,” Florio said. “We know what happened in 2023; nobody talked to him, nobody made him an offer.”
“Was it the result of collusion? I think it was,” Florio added, “Next time around, you don’t have to give the Ravens anything. No compensation other than what they get through the compensatory draft pick process, but that’s not out of your pocket if you’re the team that signs him.”
