Lamar Jackson

Just about everybody involved agrees the Ravens and Lamar Jackson are going to get an extension done at some point in the near future. Just recently Baltimore head coach John Harbaugh called it a “done deal” and said Jackson is “going to get paid.”

For his part, the star quarterback has said he doesn’t care whether it gets done this year or next, and all seems well. But the negotiations leading up to this extension are going to be very interesting, in part because Jackson is still operating without an agent, per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (Twitter link via the Pat McAfee show).

Jackson’s mother is his business partner and is serving as his de-facto agent in this process, Rapoport says. They used the same setup to negotiate his rookie deal and that went through without a hitch, although obviously this is a different animal.

Jackson is “seeing the same sort of eyebrows raised from the agent community and from players as well because his mother is doing it,” Rapsheet reports. “The stakes are incredibly high because if you lock yourself into a bad deal you’d be costing yourself tens of millions of dollars.”

Rapoport also notes that the Ravens are often good at getting team-friendly deals done, making this negotiation particularly “fascinating.”

Jackson, and his mother, will surely be looking for a payday in line with the league’s other top passers. Dak Prescott got four-years, $160MM from the Cowboys back in March, which will be an interesting baseline to compare Jackson’s new deal against.

Of course the NFL is different from other leagues, where it’s not just the top-line dollar amount that matters most, but rather the structure of guarantees and other important accounting details. There’s no reason to believe Jackson and his family don’t know what they’re doing, but the unusual setup will ensure his deal is highly scrutinized whenever it comes.

For the time being, Lamar Jackson is working as his own agent. Although the former MVP did not confirm that will remain the case during extension talks, he currently stands to play the lead role in his negotiations. The fourth-year Ravens passer addressed his status Wednesday.

John Harbaugh said earlier this offseason a Jackson extension would commence either this year or next. Because the Ravens picked up Jackson’s fifth-year option, he is under contract through 2022. His timetable still appears fluid.

“I’m not really worried about if it gets done this year or next year,” Jackson said (video link). “We’re going to see. We don’t know yet.”

Jackson’s rookie deal calls for a $1.77MM base salary this season. The 24-year-old superstar confirmed he and GM Eric DeCosta began to discuss his second contract earlier this year. Dak Prescott‘s four-year, $160MM extension figures to be a key benchmark in Jackson’s talks, just as Deshaun Watson‘s four-year, $156MM pact factored into Prescott’s down-to-the-wire negotiations. Patrick Mahomes‘ $45MM-AAV deal — a 10-year re-up — continues to look like an outlier.

Prescott opted to maximize his value, not agreeing to his extension until the franchise tag deadline ahead of his sixth season. The rest of the recent QB draftees to sign lucrative extensions — Mahomes, Watson, Carson Wentz, Jared Goff — opted to lock in big money earlier. Each agreed to deals ahead of their fourth seasons. Jackson and Josh Allen are on the same timetable; Baker Mayfield factors into this picture as well, though the Browns are not believed to have talked an extension yet. Each 2018 first-rounder has become extension-eligible at an interesting time for the quarterback position.

This offseason has brought tremendous QB movement. Five 2020 starters have been traded thus far this year; Watson and Aaron Rodgers are eager to join the carousel. Jackson, however, is not presently interested in exploring his options beyond Maryland.

“I would love to be here forever,” Jackson said. “I love Baltimore. I love the whole organization. I love everybody in the building. Hopefully, we’ll be making something happen pretty soon whenever.”

The Ravens and Lamar Jackson have kicked off extension talks, according to GM Eric DeCosta. Jackson, who represents himself, is currently scheduled to earn just $1.77MM in base salary this season.

“That’s ongoing. That’s definitely a fluid thing. Lamar and I have had a discussion about that,” DeCosta said (YouTube link). “I think it’s important to us and it’s important to him. I think Lamar is obviously a very patient guy. He wants to be the best he can be. He wants this team to be the best it can be and he wants to win very badly. So, we’re aligned that way.”

There’s mutual interest in a new deal, though the Ravens aren’t necessarily in a rush. Beyond his low-priced 2021 season, the Ravens can exercise Jackson’s fifth-year option — a fully guaranteed $23.1MM — to keep him under club control through 2022.

If the numbers are right, Jackson would probably prefer to take the safer route. Quarterbacks like Russell Wilson, Patrick Mahomes, Jared Goff, and Carson Wentz all opted for security ahead of their fourth-year rookie contracts and earned sizable paydays. On the other hand, he could follow Dak Prescott‘s playbook, which resulted in a four-year, $160MM megadeal.

The Ravens are said to be far apart in extension talks with Lamar Jackson. According to a source who spoke with Mike Florio of PFT, those discussions haven’t actually started yet. 

[RELATED: Ravens, Jackson Far Apart?]

Often times, conflicting reports like these are a matter of semantics. Do broader conversations about years/dollars qualify as negotiations? That depends on who you ask. But, as Florio notes, Jackson does not have an agent, so it’s hard to imagine that the Ravens have gotten especially deep in talks.

As it stands, Jackson is set to make just $1.77MM this year. In 2022, per the new collective bargaining agreement, his fifth-year option will be equivalent to the quarterback transition tender for 2021. Jackson triggered that by making a Pro Bowl. The QB transition tender was worth $21.75MM last year. This year, after the cap reduction, it should still fall somewhere near $20MM.

The higher value of the fifth-year option gives Jackson some additional leverage. It’s likely that he’ll seek a deal in the range of Deshaun Watson‘s four-year, $156MM extension. Watson’s pact gave him a $39MM average annual value and included a healthy $73MM guaranteed at signing. But, as of this writing, it sounds like the two sides have yet to truly engage.