According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, there have been no substantive contract talks between the Ravens and QB Lamar Jackson.
Schefter adds that for whatever reason, Jackson has not been eager to engage in contract talks, preferring to focus on preparations for the regular season. He notes the Ravens have been willing to make Jackson the league’s highest-paid quarterback.
The Athletic’s Jonathan Jones writes there doesn’t seem to be any animus between the Ravens and Jackson, and that the relationship between the two sides may even be the healthiest it’s ever been, for whatever that’s worth.
“People definitely think there’s beef, but they’re wrong,” a league source told Jones. “In the past, and now.”
Jackson prefers to keep his focus on football during the season and probably won’t negotiate in the next few months, per Schefter.
That sets up Jackson in prime negotiating position next offseason ahead of the final year of his deal with a cap hit over $80 million and no-tag and no-trade clauses. Whatever he wants, he will probably get as long as he has a strong season.
The Ravens have expressed optimism about getting a deal done to keep Jackson eventually.
Jackson, 29, is a former first-round pick of the Ravens back in 2018. He played out the fourth year of his four-year, $9,471,652 contract that included a $5,968,472 signing bonus.
The Ravens picked up Jackson’s fifth-year option, which cost them $23 million, fully guaranteed for the 2022 season. He was due to be an unrestricted free agent in 2023 when the Ravens used the non-exclusive franchise tag at a cost of $32.3 million, fully guaranteed.
Baltimore later signed Jackson to a five-year, $260 million extension. He’s scheduled to carry cap numbers of $34,390,000 and $84,340,000 in the final two years of the deal in 2026 and 2027.
In 2025, Jackson appeared in 13 games for the Ravens and threw for 2,549 yards, 21 touchdowns, and seven interceptions while completing 63.6 percent of his passes. He also rushed 67 times for 349 yards and two touchdowns.
We’ll have more on Jackson as the news becomes available.
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