Despite his disappointing 2025 season, Baltimore Ravens QB1 Lamar Jackson is still widely regarded as one of the NFL’s elite quarterbacks. The Ravens star already has two MVP awards to his name, including the league’s second-ever unanimous MVP honor in 2019. And according to teammate Zay Flowers, Jackson deserved another one in 2024 over Josh Allen of the Buffalo Bills.

“I don’t care. I’mma say it. You’re talking about the Josh Allen one. Yeah, he should have. That’s his MVP, bro,” Flowers said during an appearance on the 4th & South podcast with Jarvis Landry and Leonard Fournette. “They’re probably going to see this and say, ‘I’m hating’, but come on, bro.”

Fournette, Landry, and Flowers were discussing Lamar Jackson’s case as one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL when the conversation diverged towards the 29-year-old’s third possible MVP award in 2024. Jackson finished second behind Allen with 362 points and 23 first-place votes over the Bills QB1’s 383 points and 27 first-place votes.

In that season, Josh Allen recorded 41 touchdowns with 28 passing, 12 rushing, and one receiving, while throwing a career-low six interceptions. He also became the first player in history with 25-plus passing TDs, 10-plus rushing TDs, and a receiving score. With these elite numbers, Buffalo finished with a 13-4 record and clinched the AFC East in Week 13. However, they failed to reach the Super Bowl after losing in the AFC Championship game.

On the other hand, Lamar Jackson had his own historic season, finishing with better numbers than Allen across various categories. The 29-year-old threw for more yards (4,172) and more touchdowns (41), fewer interceptions (four), while running for more yards (915) than Allen. Jackson also recorded an 119.6 passer rating, ranked fourth all-time for a single season, and secured 30 out of 50 first-team All-Pro votes.

However, Jackson struggled to lead his Ravens deeper into the postseason as Baltimore suffered a 27-25 loss against Buffalo despite the former Louisville quarterback throwing for 254 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception over Allen’s 127 yards and two rushing scores, without any interceptions. Hence, many wouldn’t consider Flowers a ‘hater’ for his claim and agree that Jackson should have won his third MVP in the 2024-25 season.

Although those MVP debates are now in the past, Lamar Jackson heads into the upcoming season facing another intriguing situation. The Ravens and their franchise quarterback have yet to agree on a new contract extension. A similar standoff unfolded in 2023 before both sides eventually reached a deal, with Jackson signing a massive five-year, $260 million extension in April of that year.

Although Ravens GM Eric DeCosta issued a positive update about how the franchise is confident about re-signing Lamar Jackson, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler has issued an update about how things could turn out for both parties this time around.

NFL insider reveals latest about Lamar Jackson’s contract negotiations

Ahead of the 2026 season, Lamar Jackson has two years and $104 million remaining on his contract. However, these negotiations were made difficult as Jackson is coming off one of the worst years in his eight-season NFL career. The 29-year-old missed four games with a hamstring strain and back contusion, finishing 6-7 as a starter (his first career losing record) while recording 2,549 yards and 21 touchdowns across 13 games.

With that said, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler revealed that the negotiations between the Ravens and Jackson could take an interesting turn if the star quarterback bounces back with another stellar season in the Purple and Black.

“Last time [in 2023] it seemed like talks were going nowhere and then a deal seemed to pop out suddenly,” said an NFC executive of Jackson. “This one has a chance to get really interesting again, especially if he has a big year and ups his leverage.”

This Lamar Jackson-Josh Allen 2024 MVP debate will continue as one of the great debates in league history, as both quarterbacks had legitimate cases with strong statistical seasons. But looking at the 2026 season, it holds significant weight for Jackson, as a strong bounce-back year could reshape his contract leverage and set the stage for yet another high-stakes negotiation with Baltimore.