Star quarterback Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens have agreed to a five-year extension, the team announced Thursday, just before the NFL draft. According to CBS Sports NFL Insider Josina Anderson, the deal is worth $260 million, with $185 million guaranteed.
The contract averages about $52 million per season, making Jackson the NFL’s highest-paid player by average annual salary, Anderson reported. However, the guaranteed portion of the contract is under the $230 million Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson received last summer.
Jackson expressed excitement about the extension in an official announcement video posted on the team’s Twitter account.
“Over the last few months, he’s said a lot, he said, a lot of nail-biting, a lot of head-scratching,” Jackson said. “But for the next five years, it’s a lot of swarming going on. Come on, baby. Let’s go.”
We’ve agreed in principle to a 5-year contract extension with QB @Lj_era8‼️
😈😈😈😈 pic.twitter.com/tQj1Rzqcha
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) April 27, 2023
According to the team, the talks have been going on for almost two years. Eric DeCosta, the Ravens general manager, called the deal to secure Jackson’s contract “a long, long process, but family is never easy.”
Earlier this offseason, the Ravens gave Jackson a non-exclusive franchise tag, giving him the ability to sign a contract with another team that the Ravens would have been able to match at the time. That led to speculation that Baltimore might be ready to part ways with their franchise quarterback — the 2019 league MVP.
Earlier this month, the Philadelphia Eagles reached A five-year, $255 million contract with quarterback Jalen Hurts, which was the league’s highest average annual salary before Jackson’s deal. About $180 million was guaranteed in the deal.
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Tre’Von Howard
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