How much is too much? That’s probably a question the Baltimore Ravens‘ front office has been asking itself every day this offseason. With the quarterback market already close to a fever pitch, folks know there’s not much time before contracts reach astronomical figures. So how does John Harbaugh & Co. intend to fight that money war? Well, it’s a game of pre-empting and preparing.

In simple words: The organization won’t be waiting till Lamar Jackson‘s current contract nears its end after the 2027 season. In fact, as per reports, the two sides are already in an “introductory stage” of extension talks. But if we zoom in, the timing makes it all the more messy. Jackson just lost $1.5 million for missing voluntary OTAs after forfeiting a $750,000 workout bonus for the second consecutive offseason. And, despite Harbaugh’s insistence that he is “not measuring, really, the attendance,” many wonder whether the signal caller’s deliberate absences have something to do with the talks having gone sour already.

But, during a SportsCenter segment this week, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler confirmed that there’s no “major concern here”. He also dived deep into exactly what we can expect. “The Ravens would love to re-sign Jackson eventually…exploratory talks [are in] early stages…The model, my sense would be like what Buffalo did with Josh Allen back in March, where you try to get ahead of this huge quarterback market that’s ballooning to the 60-plus million dollars per year [range]. Try to do a deal two or three years before they’re up. The Bills pulled that off [with] Allen. Maybe the Ravens can do the same with Jackson. They don’t want to have to pay an astronomical amount two or three years later.”

Now, if we take a quick look at some facts and figures… The market for quarterbacks is not just expanding, but exploding. Dak Prescott is estimated to earn $60 million annually. Trevor Lawrence secured $55 million a year from the Jacksonville Jaguars, as did Joe Burrow and Jordan Love for the same figure.

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But, when it comes to Josh Allen, (whose earlier six-year, $258 million contract was set to run through to the 2028 season), his advanced negotiation was never about resetting the market. In the Bills player’s own words in March this year, “I wasn’t looking to absolutely kill them at every chance I could, and I told my agent that…It’s weird to say this, but what is $5 million more going to do for my life that I can’t already do right now. It’s not that crazy to me.”

So, now the only question that remains is whether Baltimore will be able to tackle the $70 million annual tidal before it hits.

John Harbaugh is hopeful

The Baltimore Ravens know there’s no point in feigning ignorance. So when head coach John Harbaugh was asked about his multimillion quarterback’s future within the franchise, he had said back in March, “There’s been conversations about that internally, I know,” before adding:

“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.”

“It’s definitely in the conversation. I know that’s been talked about, and yes, I’d love to see that get done as well,” the coach had further said.

Notably, Lamar Jackson is due to earn $20.25 million in base salary ($43.5 million salary cap number) this upcoming season, which will go up to a staggering $51.25 million ($74.5 million salary cap number) next year. Despite the exponential rise we’re already seeing, hopefully the team might work something out. What do you think?