New Ruling Sheds Light on Ravens' Lamar Jackson Negotiations

Just hours before the start of the 2023 NFL Draft, the Baltimore Ravens signed star quarterback Lamar Jackson to a five-year, $260 million extension, making him the highest-paid player in NFL history at the time. He's been absolutely dominant since then, turning in two MVP-caliber seasons while breaking several franchise records.

Jackson has been so dominant, in fact, that it's easy to forget that the negotiations beforehand were very messy. He even requested a trade on March 2, and for a while, it looked like he might've played his final game in a Ravens uniform.

Thanks to a 61-page ruling in an NFL collusion case obtained by Pablo Torre, new details surrounding the negotiations between the Ravens and Jackson have come to light. Perhaps most notably, general manager Eric DeCosta testified during the hearing that difficulties in negotiating were exacerbated due to what Jackson claimed were technical difficulties.

“Mr. Jackson said that the microphone on his phone was not working, making communications with Mr. DeCosta difficult,” the ruling explains at page 30, per Pro Football Talk.

Additionally, the ruling claimed that Jackson texted DeCosta, “I’m going to continue to request a FULLY GUARANTEED contract I understand you all DON’T and that’s fine.” Jackson's desire for a fully-guaranteed contract, similar to what the Browns gave Deshaun Watson in 2022, was reported at the time.

The Ravens then presented two different three-year deals that they "considered" to be fully-guaranteed, but Jackson rejected both. He then requested a trade, but did not provide the Ravens with a list of teams he would accept a trade to, and no team reached out after the team placed the non-exclusive franchise tag.

The two parties were at an impasse, but of course, they ultimately resolved their differences. How? Well, according to page 32 of the ruling: “Mr. DeCosta was preparing for the 2023 draft in April 2023 under the assumption that Mr. Jackson would no longer be playing for the Ravens, but on the eve of the draft, sent Mr. Jackson a new offer. . . . Much to Mr. DeCosta’s surprise, Mr. Jackson quickly accepted it.”

With the Ravens and Jackson already talking about a new contract, one can only hope that they've both learned from this saga and come to an agreement with much less hassle this time.