What Will Ravens' Lamar Jackson's Contract Extension Look Like?

Remember just a few short years ago when it looked like the Baltimore Ravens would trade Lamar Jackson in the midst of contract disputes? Speaking of that, remember when Atlanta Falcons Arthur Blank said the team wasn't interested in Jackson because they had Desmond Ridder? Good times.

Jackson and the Ravens, of course, agreed to a five-year, $260 million extension and they have reaped the rewards of that ever since. Jackson won his second MVP award in 2023 and has been named First-Team All-Pro twice more in 2023 and 2024. Now, John Harbaugh has confirmed that the Ravens are working on an extension for Jackson that would make him the highest-paid player in NFL history.

"There's been conversations about that internally, I know," Harbaugh said. "How far along that is or whatever, I don't know... Sooner or later, definitely is going to have to happen."

With that in mind, the question then becomes 'what will the extension look like?' It all depends on if the Ravens want to give Jackson the highest average salary in NFL history, the most guaranteed money, or the highest potential total through the span of the deal. So we'll take a brief look at each of those scenarios and see what the Ravens would have to do in each case in order to achieve the goal of making Jackson the highest paid player of all time.

Highest Total Value: Patrick Mahomes

Jackson getting a Mahomes-esc deal feels highly unlikely. A 10-year contract is a once-in-a-generation type of thing - we're not going to see that again. Even if the Ravens wanted to do something to get Jackson a potential total value of $455 million to eclipse Mahomes' $450 million, doing that over a five or six-year deal would be basically impossible and carry a minimum APY of $91 million.

Highest APY: Dak Prescott

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Precott is currently making the most average money per year in league history with an APY of $60 million. Prescott's deal. Prescott signed a four-year, $240 million extension last year, roughly one month before the 2024 season began. Should Baltimore want to top that, a deal somewhere in the neighborhood of $248 million over four years to give Jackson an APY of $62 million per year. However, considering Josh Allen just got $250 million in guaranteed money alone, Jackson is going to cost at least what Allen got.

Most Guaranteed: Josh Allen

The reigning NFL MVP was given a six-year, $330 million deal with an NFL-record $250 million in guaranteed money. Allen currently sits in the No. 2 slot, tied with Jordan Love, Trevor Lawrence, and Joe Burrow behind Prescott in terms of APY, making $55 million per season. This feels like the most likely route the Ravens will take when it comes to Jackson's extension. His current deal runs through 2027. He'll turn 30 that season, so a front-loaded extension would make the most sense for Baltimore. A five-year extension in the neighborhood of $310 million with $260 fully guaranteed would make Jackson the highest paid player on both fronts - the most APY and the most guaranteed money in history.