As the Ravens make a controversial pivot from a Maxx Crosby trade to a Trey Hendrickson free agency addition, a similar cost is on tap. Either way, the team needed to make a move with Lamar Jackson‘s contract to reduce an untenable 2026 cap number.
Baltimore has done so, but no extension has been reached. The Ravens are restructuring Jackson’s deal, CBS Sports’ Aditi Kinkhabwala reports. Jackson’s restructure is expected to open up around $40MM in cap space, ESPN’s Adam Schefter notes. This will come from a $49.56MM base-to-bonus conversion, per Spotrac, as $39.96MM in additional funds will be available now.
This move will drop Jackson’s cap hit from $74.5MM, where it had been sitting as a payroll anchor. Jackson will still be expected to work toward an extension this offseason, and it is worth wondering why the two-time MVP did not attempt to maximize his value by leveraging his high cap hit — as the Ravens needed to lower it to make room for Hendrickson and John Simpson — by pushing for a monster re-up now. But Jackson has not been a conventional negotiator during his NFL years, as his lengthy path to his second contract showed.
The Ravens had not gone to the Jackson restructure well previously. He carried a $43.5MM cap number last year. That figure falling in 2026 will give Baltimore more space to operate, but it will still cost — in all likelihood — more than $60MM per year to extend Jackson a second time. Dak Prescott‘s four-year, $260MM Cowboys deal has topped the league since September 2024. Jackson, 29, has a clear case to eclipse that — especially as the cap has climbed by nearly $50MM (to $301.2MM) since that Dallas deal was finalized.
Rumblings about a Jackson extension last year emerged, but nothing came of it. The Ravens had hoped to extend Tyler Linderbaum as well, but they ended up losing him (to the Raiders) this week. Baltimore did complete a record-setting Kyle Hamilton re-up. Although not much action occurred on the QB market last year, with Prescott’s deal not being approached, the cap climb will still put Jackson in good position. Two years remain on his contract, and this restructure will hike the dead money on the deal in the highly unlikely event the Ravens do not extend him by March 2028.
Not that they would do anything, because we are talking about the NFL here, but they should do a little digging into all of this. First…they void a trade that heavily impacted another team, other teams, other players, other players families and so on. Then they sign another player at the same position to a large contract a day later and restructure a very very highly priced veteran contract that opens up a HUGE amount of cap space. “I’m not saying it aliens…”
There was always going to be some sort of adjustment for Jackson this offseason. It’s one thing if you think the Crosby-Hendrickson thing is suspicious, but restructuring or extending Jackson to lower his 2026 cap hit was inevitable long before any of this.
I don’t disagree at all. Jackson was always going to be restructured. And I’m not smart enough to even try to dig into the specifics of NFL contracts so maybe I shouldn’t be commenting at all, but I have to think that it’s highly possible that Jacksons contract could’ve been restructured in a different way because of the cost savings between Crosby and Hendrickson.
Why would the Ravens give up two first round picks for a guy who failed the physical? It was worse than they assumed, obviously.
I think the point is that he may have not called the physical. Ravens saw a better option with Trey and went that route.
So when will DeCosta will take a look at Lamar’s back issues and decide that he’s not worth his contract either /s
Each of these moves by the Ravens are legitimate on their own. No trade is final until it is final; requiring a physical is like having an inspection when you buy a home. Signing Hendrickson was probably already a backup to Crosby’s physical. Is that not a smart move to make? And Lamar’s contract has been in the works for a while. Bisciotti was adamant about that. So let’s get over “the league needs to investigate”. There’s nothing there.
The difference is that the guy doing the home inspection isn’t employed by the home owner. Kind of a major difference.
Nothing illegal but 100% suspect.
Wonder if the ravens will back out
“That figure falling in 2026 will give Baltimore more space to operate, but it will still cost — in all likelihood — more than $60MM per year to extend Jackson a second time. Dak Prescott‘s four-year, $260MM Cowboys deal has topped the league since September 2024. Jackson, 29, has a clear case to eclipse that — especially as the cap has climbed by nearly $50MM (to $301.2MM) since that Dallas deal was finalized.”
Yeah, salary caps have totally depressed the salaries of NFL and NBA players…no wonder Yankees, Dodgers and Mets fans are so against the idea.
Totally valid concern, no doubt.