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Ravens' Lamar Jackson gets $260 million contract update after Patrick Mahomes deal originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The quarterback salary leaderboard is like a game of leapfrog.
When one new QB gets a record-setting contract -- in this case, Patrick Mahomes with the Chiefs -- another one soon follows with a new record -- in this case, seemingly Lamar Jackson with the Baltimore Ravens.
As it stands, Jackson is under contract for two more seasons. He also has a no-franchise clause in his contract, meaning the Ravens couldn't keep him around on the franchise tag if they don't come to agreement on a new deal in the meantime.
That sets Jackson up to get the biggest average annual value for a QB contract ever. It might not have the length of Mahomes' new extension, but Jackson is certainly going to get paid.
MORE: Chiefs' new contract makes it even harder to release Patrick Mahomes
ESPN's Bill Barnwell wrote in a new analysis article on Thursday that Jackson could be looking at something like four years for $260 million, which is $65 million per year.
"A four-year, $260 million deal would make Jackson the highest-paid player in NFL history while still leaving the veteran with the potential to get one more crack at another contract in his mid-30s," Barnwell writes. "The Ravens would likely need to guarantee the $52 million Jackson is owed in 2027 and more than $100 million of the new money on the deal, with practical guarantees running into 2030 or 2031. And if Jackson does want to try to hold his ground for a fully guaranteed contract the second time around, well, he could point to what happened after the last negotiation as proof that he deserves that sort of deal."
MORE: Will they still be called the Chicago Bears if they play in Indiana?
The one conceptual problem with Jackson is that he hasn't proved his MVP-level ways can get it done in the playoffs.
On the flip side, though, Jackson is one of the best QBs on the planet. As a team, the Ravens likely can't afford to get rid of him.
Instead, they'll just have to afford whatever huge contract ends up getting put on the table. The cost of keeping Jackson is more manageable than the cost of having to put together a winning team without him.
More NFL news:
- A.J. Brown and Stefon Diggs have a Patriots, Bills, Drake Maye, Josh Allen link
- Josh Allen called out by a coach with a major losing record
- Lamar Jackson has an obvious reason not to sign right now
- Myles Garrett's Browns career comes to the most Cleveland of endings
- There's a risk the OBJ signing is a mistake
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