The Baltimore Ravens and Lamar Jackson have finally ended their years-long stalemate and agreed to the terms of a 5-year contract extension.
Jackson is the newest high-paid quarterback in the NFL with the $260 million deal, and he negotiated on his own behalf without an agent.
71%, or $185 million of that $260 million, is guaranteed money.
He overtakes Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts who was the highest-paid quarterback for 10 days following the announcement of his extension on April 17; his 5-year deal is worth $255 million with $179,399,000 being guaranteed (70%).
Here is what Jackson’s deal means for the NFL.
1. Each QB Contract Is Higher Than The Previous One
Jackson will not be the highest-paid NFL quarterback for long.
#Ravens QB Lamar Jackson's five-year, $260 million deal includes $185 million in guarantees, per sources.
Not the fully guaranteed deal Jackson had long sought. But the $52M average makes him the highest-paid player in NFL history on a per-year basis.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) April 27, 2023
Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert and Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow are also in line to receive extensions.
Jalen Hurts’ contract was the impetus and basis for the negotiation of Jackson’s deal.
Hurts went to the Super Bowl, and Jackson is a former NFL MVP so they have credentials.
Burrow also went to the Super Bowl.
Joe burrow seeing these QB contracts getting handed out pic.twitter.com/EYIdYfppG5
— Zack smallwood (@Titanfan4life92) April 27, 2023
Where does that leave Herbert who has accomplished neither?
The 2023 salary cap is $224 million.
Though NFL owners have creative ways of allocating money and paying players, Jackson’s and Hurts’ deals represent 23% of this year’s salary cap with 51 other players also on the roster.
2. Deshaun Watson’s Fully Guaranteed Contract Is Not The Norm
Part of Jackson’s issue with the Ravens was that they were not matching what he saw the Cleveland Browns give Deshaun Watson in March 2022.
Watson got a 5-year deal worth $230 million with $230 million of fully guaranteed money.
That 100% guaranteed salary was not given to Jalen Hurts or to Jackson.
The Watson deal appears to be an outlier, and owners are not committed to guaranteeing 100% of the quarterback’s salary going forward.
Largest #NFL Practical Guarantee
1. Deshaun Watson, $230M
2. Lamar Jackson, $185M*
3. Jalen Hurts, $179.3M
4. Russell Wilson, $161M
5. Kyler Murray, $159.7Mper @JosinaAnderson
— Spotrac (@spotrac) April 27, 2023
Conclusion
In case you are wondering, after Herbert and Burrow get their extensions, the next in line would be the 2021 draft picks.
The most notable from that class are third-year players Jacksonville Jaguars Trevor Lawrence and Chicago Bears Justin Fields.
Trey Lance is another third-year player who presumably will be paid at some point pending his performance as San Francisco’s QB1.
Another quarterback to factor into the mix is Jordan Love who is entering his fourth season but the first as the Packers QB1.
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