How Ravens' Lamar Jackson Could Make $70 Million Per Year

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson will be the highest-paid player in the NFL once he inevitably signs his new extension, with head coach John Harbaugh saying as much at the owners' meetings back in March.

In order to achieve that title, he'll have to surpass Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, who is currently making $60 million per year after signing a four-year, $240 million extension last offseason. It seems like a safe bet he will surpass that annual value, but by how much?

CBS Sports' Joel Corry, a former NFL player agent, believes it could be a massive margin.

Corry pointed out that since 2022, each quarterback who has reset the market has done so by getting a deal worth an average of 9.98 percent more than the previous record agreement. That already bodes well for Jackson if he signs an extension this offseason, but he could shoot his value into the stratosphere if he waits just a little longer.

"Based on these trends, Jackson can justify $65.5 million to $67 million per year for a contract extension he signs this year," Corry wrote. "Jackson's reasonable worst-case scenario should be adjusting his $52 million per year for the 24.2% increase of the salary cap since he signed in 2023. This is approximately $64.5 million per year.

"Jackson should also make it clear to the Ravens that by waiting until next year to do a deal, the growth in the salary cap from 2025 to 2026 will need to be taken into account. For example, if the 2026 salary cap is set at $302.5 million, then the deal would have to be at $70 million per year because that would reflect the 34.56% salary cap inflation from 2023."

On the other side of the coin, this only gives the Ravens more reason to get a deal done this offseason. The main reason to extend him right now, when he still has three years left on his deal, is to lower his $74.5 million cap hit in 2026, but if they end up paying him $70 million per year, they won't be getting too much in the way of cap relief.

A deal in the $61 million-$65 million per year range would be more palatable from the team's perspective, but of course, it takes two to tango.