Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh offered some insight into the team’s plans to re-sign quarterback Lamar Jackson to another contract extension during the NFL’s annual league meetings on Monday. Harbaugh, who just inked a new extension himself, detailed that there have been “internal conversations” about re-upping Jackson, but did not specify a timeline for when a deal would get done.
“There’s been conversations about that internally, I know,” Harbaugh said, via NFL.com. “How far along that is or whatever, I don’t know. I definitely think it’s an obvious point … that’s going to continue to have to be addressed, really with all those guys. You just kinda manage that dance, the salary cap dance, and Lamar is the main part of that because he’s the franchise player. That’s a possibility, I think. Sooner or later, definitely is gonna have to happen.”
What Harbaugh did specifically say is that Jackson will become the highest-paid player in the NFL once he is re-signed.
“The value is the top,” Harbaugh said, via the Ravens’ team website. “When Lamar gets paid, he’s going to be the highest-paid player in football, just like he was last time. I think every contract he signs till he decides to hang up his cleats, he’s going to be that guy.”
Harbaugh’s comments about making Jackson the highest-paid player are similar to the Cincinnati Bengals, who publicly said they would make wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase the highest-paid non-quarterback in the league. The Bengals did just that, signing Chase to a deal that will see him earn $40.25 million per year, but backed themselves into a corner by stating their plan publicly.
Though Harbaugh has made practically the same claim as the Bengals did, the Ravens are taking an approach more similar to the Buffalo Bills with their plans for extending Jackson. The Bills recently re-signed quarterback Josh Allen this offseason to a six-year, $330 million deal with a record $250 million guaranteed, despite previously signing Allen to an extension in 2021 that had him locked in through the 2028 season.
The Bills wanted to give Allen a raise after an MVP season as well as get ahead of his next deal, which will ultimately save them money in the long run. In general, the Bills have become proactive in paying their cornerstone players ahead of time, so that they are not over-paying them down the line. The Ravens previously waited to sign Jackson after placing the franchise-tag on him in 2023, and ended up extending him on a then-record five-year, $260 million deal. Jackson is currently signed through the 2027 season, but this time around, the Ravens appear ready to re-extend him sooner rather than later.
Jackson has proven more than deserving of becoming the NFL’s highest-paid player after winning the MVP award in 2023 and putting together another MVP-caliber season in ’24. It’s only fitting that he will likely soon become the top-paid player in the league.
