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Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs have reset the quarterback market again, and the ripple effect could eventually reach Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens. According to ESPN, Mahomes is set to make more than $500 million in a reworked deal that adds two years to his contract and ties him to Kansas City through 2033. The agreement is valued at $504.75 million from 2026 through 2033, making it the first NFL contract worth more than half a billion dollars. The deal includes $239.05 million in new money, the first four years are guaranteed at signing, and all $504.75 million can become guaranteed through contract mechanisms.
Mahomes can push the total value to $522.25 million through incentives and escalators. Beginning in 2027, when the new money starts, the deal averages $64 million per year, setting a new NFL record for average annual value.
That number matters for Jackson.
The Ravens quarterback has already reshaped the quarterback market once, and Baltimore's long-term planning remains directly tied to how the league's elite passers are valued. Mahomes' latest agreement gives Jackson's camp another high-end data point, especially because it comes after Kansas City repeatedly adjusted Mahomes' contract to reflect the exploding quarterback market while still preserving the Chiefs' roster flexibility.
This is the third time in six years the Chiefs and Mahomes have reset the quarterback market. Equity Sports CEO Chris Cabott, Chiefs general manager Brett Veach, and Kansas City's front office finalized the latest landmark agreement, continuing a pattern that has allowed the Chiefs to keep their franchise quarterback while creating enough flexibility to maintain a championship-caliber roster.
Kansas City has now committed $689.05 million in new money to Mahomes from 2022 through 2033, a massive and wealthy investment made to extend one of the NFL's great modern dynasties. Mahomes is also working back from a torn ACL and LCL suffered on December 14, 2025, with the Chiefs remaining optimistic he will be ready for Week 1 against the Denver Broncos on "Monday Night Football."
For Baltimore, the Mahomes deal lands in the middle of a complicated Jackson conversation.
Jackson is coming off a season in which he produced his first losing record as a starting quarterback, going 6-7, while posting the fewest total yards of his eight-year career with 2,898. The Ravens missed the playoffs for the first time since 2021, and Baltimore's offense averaged 332.2 yards per game, its lowest mark since 2017. After a near-MVP season in 2024, Jackson was battered, missed four games, and finished 192 of 302 passing for 2,549 yards, 21 touchdowns, seven interceptions, and a 103.8 passer rating.
Those numbers complicate the optics, but they do not erase Jackson's leverage. Elite quarterback contracts are not built only on one season. They are built on scarcity, résumés, market movement, and the cost of starting over. Jackson remains a two-time MVP and the central figure in everything Baltimore does offensively.
The Ravens already restructured Jackson's contract to create roughly $40 million in salary cap space for 2026, a move Aditi Kinkhabwala reported was expected if a new contract was not reached. The adjustment was similar to offseason moves involving Mahomes and Josh Allen, and it gave Baltimore the needed flexibility as the team continued to build around Jackson.
Kansas City did something similar with Mahomes, converting $54.45 million of his 2026 salary into a signing bonus. That lowered Mahomes' cap number from $78.2 million to $34.65 million, creating $43.56 million in cap space. It marked the fourth straight year the Chiefs restructured Mahomes' contract to improve their salary cap situation.
Baltimore had its own roster-building reason to create room. The Ravens needed flexibility to afford Trey Hendrickson, and Jackson's reworked deal was one of the most logical ways to open millions in cap space. Per Over The Cap, that kind of move gave the Ravens a path to remain aggressive without stripping down the roster around their franchise quarterback.
The bigger issue is what comes next.
Restructuring Jackson's deal bought Baltimore short-term flexibility, but it also signaled that the sides had not yet reached terms on a longer extension. Mahomes' deal now raises the ceiling again. The Chiefs did not simply create cap room. They also adjusted the contract's long-term value to bring Mahomes closer to the current quarterback market.
That is the model Jackson and the Ravens will have to study.
Mahomes' new average of $64 million per year does not automatically mean Jackson will reach that number, especially after an injury-affected season and Baltimore's offensive regression. But it does make the top of the quarterback market more expensive. If Mahomes is the standard, Jackson's next negotiation will likely revolve around how close a two-time MVP should be to that standard and how much flexibility Baltimore needs to keep a contender around him.
The Ravens' challenge is balancing both realities. Jackson is too important to risk alienating, but the roster around him is also expensive. Baltimore has major investments in defense, added Hendrickson to its pass rush, and still needs enough cap room to maintain depth at premium positions. A massive Jackson extension could stabilize the franchise for years, but the structure will matter as much as the average annual value.
Mahomes' deal is a reminder that quarterback contracts rarely get cheaper. The Chiefs have repeatedly chosen to stay ahead of the market with their franchise quarterback, even while using restructures to manage the cap. The Ravens may eventually have to decide whether to follow a similar path with Jackson.
For now, Mahomes' historic extension puts Jackson's situation back in focus. Baltimore created space for 2026, but the long-term question remains unresolved. If the Ravens believe Jackson is still their championship window, the Mahomes deal just made the price of certainty even higher.
This article originally appeared on Ravens Wire: Ravens face bigger Lamar Jackson question after Mahomes deal
Continue reading...
Mahomes can push the total value to $522.25 million through incentives and escalators. Beginning in 2027, when the new money starts, the deal averages $64 million per year, setting a new NFL record for average annual value.
That number matters for Jackson.
The Ravens quarterback has already reshaped the quarterback market once, and Baltimore's long-term planning remains directly tied to how the league's elite passers are valued. Mahomes' latest agreement gives Jackson's camp another high-end data point, especially because it comes after Kansas City repeatedly adjusted Mahomes' contract to reflect the exploding quarterback market while still preserving the Chiefs' roster flexibility.
This is the third time in six years the Chiefs and Mahomes have reset the quarterback market. Equity Sports CEO Chris Cabott, Chiefs general manager Brett Veach, and Kansas City's front office finalized the latest landmark agreement, continuing a pattern that has allowed the Chiefs to keep their franchise quarterback while creating enough flexibility to maintain a championship-caliber roster.
Kansas City has now committed $689.05 million in new money to Mahomes from 2022 through 2033, a massive and wealthy investment made to extend one of the NFL's great modern dynasties. Mahomes is also working back from a torn ACL and LCL suffered on December 14, 2025, with the Chiefs remaining optimistic he will be ready for Week 1 against the Denver Broncos on "Monday Night Football."
For Baltimore, the Mahomes deal lands in the middle of a complicated Jackson conversation.
Jackson is coming off a season in which he produced his first losing record as a starting quarterback, going 6-7, while posting the fewest total yards of his eight-year career with 2,898. The Ravens missed the playoffs for the first time since 2021, and Baltimore's offense averaged 332.2 yards per game, its lowest mark since 2017. After a near-MVP season in 2024, Jackson was battered, missed four games, and finished 192 of 302 passing for 2,549 yards, 21 touchdowns, seven interceptions, and a 103.8 passer rating.
Those numbers complicate the optics, but they do not erase Jackson's leverage. Elite quarterback contracts are not built only on one season. They are built on scarcity, résumés, market movement, and the cost of starting over. Jackson remains a two-time MVP and the central figure in everything Baltimore does offensively.
The Ravens already restructured Jackson's contract to create roughly $40 million in salary cap space for 2026, a move Aditi Kinkhabwala reported was expected if a new contract was not reached. The adjustment was similar to offseason moves involving Mahomes and Josh Allen, and it gave Baltimore the needed flexibility as the team continued to build around Jackson.
Kansas City did something similar with Mahomes, converting $54.45 million of his 2026 salary into a signing bonus. That lowered Mahomes' cap number from $78.2 million to $34.65 million, creating $43.56 million in cap space. It marked the fourth straight year the Chiefs restructured Mahomes' contract to improve their salary cap situation.
Baltimore had its own roster-building reason to create room. The Ravens needed flexibility to afford Trey Hendrickson, and Jackson's reworked deal was one of the most logical ways to open millions in cap space. Per Over The Cap, that kind of move gave the Ravens a path to remain aggressive without stripping down the roster around their franchise quarterback.
The bigger issue is what comes next.
Restructuring Jackson's deal bought Baltimore short-term flexibility, but it also signaled that the sides had not yet reached terms on a longer extension. Mahomes' deal now raises the ceiling again. The Chiefs did not simply create cap room. They also adjusted the contract's long-term value to bring Mahomes closer to the current quarterback market.
That is the model Jackson and the Ravens will have to study.
Mahomes' new average of $64 million per year does not automatically mean Jackson will reach that number, especially after an injury-affected season and Baltimore's offensive regression. But it does make the top of the quarterback market more expensive. If Mahomes is the standard, Jackson's next negotiation will likely revolve around how close a two-time MVP should be to that standard and how much flexibility Baltimore needs to keep a contender around him.
The Ravens' challenge is balancing both realities. Jackson is too important to risk alienating, but the roster around him is also expensive. Baltimore has major investments in defense, added Hendrickson to its pass rush, and still needs enough cap room to maintain depth at premium positions. A massive Jackson extension could stabilize the franchise for years, but the structure will matter as much as the average annual value.
Mahomes' deal is a reminder that quarterback contracts rarely get cheaper. The Chiefs have repeatedly chosen to stay ahead of the market with their franchise quarterback, even while using restructures to manage the cap. The Ravens may eventually have to decide whether to follow a similar path with Jackson.
For now, Mahomes' historic extension puts Jackson's situation back in focus. Baltimore created space for 2026, but the long-term question remains unresolved. If the Ravens believe Jackson is still their championship window, the Mahomes deal just made the price of certainty even higher.
This article originally appeared on Ravens Wire: Ravens face bigger Lamar Jackson question after Mahomes deal
Continue reading...
