On the night the 2023 NFL Draft opened in Kansas City, the Baltimore Ravens agreed to pay Lamar Jackson $260 million. The deal had taken nearly two years, a non-exclusive franchise tag, and a public trade request. Jackson ran the negotiations himself, sat through offer after offer he didn’t like, and waited until Baltimore had no room left to move. Three years on, they’re back at it, still unsigned.

“The Ravens have wanted to get a deal done with the self-represented Jackson but have been unable to,” CBS Sports insider Jonathan Jones reported in his NFL Insider Notebook.

Jackson’s current five-year deal runs through 2027. When it expires, Baltimore cannot franchise-tag him. That’s a clause he put in the contract himself. Without a new deal, he hits free agency in 2028, and the Ravens would have to bid for him like any other team. He made sure of that in 2023, and it’s the reason this negotiation has a harder deadline than Baltimore’s public tone lets on.

Last season didn’t make things easier. Jackson missed four games with a hamstring strain and back contusion, finished 6-7 as a starter (his first career losing record), and threw for 2,549 yards and 21 touchdowns across 13 games. No front office brings up injury history directly in contract talks, but the data gets noted regardless.

Where Does Ravens Still Lack Elite Talent?

Let Tony do the scouting, you just make the pick.

Pick your positions. Get Tony’s top 5:

QB

RB

FB

WR

TE

C

CB

DE

DT

G

ILB

OLB

P

PK

S

T

View Tony’s Picks

Jackson hasn’t spoken on the extension, but his Instagram has already started dropping hints like his last standoff. He notably posted a filter-distorted selfie with Mannie Fresh’s ‘Real Big’ playing in the backdrop and the lyric “Pockets real big” front and center of the post. This post, along with Lamar’s history of dropping hints on social media, suggests the talks must be heating up. New head coach Jesse Minter, meanwhile, has cleared his stance on Jackson.

“Lamar knows how the organization feels about him,” Minter said on NFL Live. “We know how he feels about us. We think in due time that that’ll all work itself out.”

So does this mean Lamar Jackson will suit up when the offseason training begins? At the NFL owners’ meeting in Phoenix, Jesse Minter said that Jackson is hyped for 2026 but essentially said that there are no guarantees of seeing him on April 6, when the OTAs begin.

“I know Lamar is excited,” Minter noted. “I think he is excited about some of the changes. We’ve had a lot of good connection points, but the offseason program is voluntary, and we’re excited to get a chance to work with all of the guys, whoever wants to show up.”

This isn’t the first time Jackson has skipped Baltimore’s offseason. He attended just one voluntary workout in each of the last two seasons, a choice that came with a cost. His contract carries a $750,000 workout bonus each year, and he’s left $1.5 million of it on the table already. The money hasn’t moved him yet, and a contract dispute isn’t going to change that calculus.

But Jesse Minter’s non-answer suggests Baltimore has no clue about Jackson’s attendance this year either. The power dynamic in this negotiation is the same as it was in 2023, and the quarterback market is about to price that in moving forward.

Lamar Jackson’s contract strategy

The QB market isn’t going down, especially with the newer quarterbacks making a strong case for themselves. New England Patriots’ Drake Maye posted 4,394 passing yards in 2025, came within inches of earning the MVP title, and cemented himself as a franchise cornerstone. Bo Nix posted 3,931 yards and pushed the Denver Broncos all the way to the AFC Championship.

Even Jaxson Dart showed the range and mobility in his rookie season that made the New York Giants go all-in on him. All three of them are still on rookie deals. When their extensions come, the annual QB number moves again, and Dak Prescott’s $60-million-per-year (currently the market ceiling) gets outmatched. Every new contract signed between now and Jackson’s next deal makes Baltimore’s eventual number higher. For Jackson, waiting isn’t impatience; it’s arithmetic. 

“Does Jackson do a deal this offseason to top [Dak] Prescott’s $60 million number, only to be eclipsed by any (or several) of the names above next year?” Jonathan Jones posed the difficult question. “Or does he wait on the market to do much of the negotiating for him and come in over the top in 2027?”

General manager Eric DeCosta had acknowledged where things stood when the league year opened. 

“We kind of ran out of time,” DeCosta had said. “Certainly hopeful that we’ll get an extension done. I think it’s important to both parties.”

Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti even went a step further, noting the willingness to negotiate to keep Lamar Jackson in Baltimore.

“We want another window, and Lamar knows that,” Bisciotti declared. “I think he is amenable to doing something that mirrors the last deal that he did, although the annual number will be a little higher.”

The Ravens are projecting confidence. It did the same thing in 2023, right before Jackson filed a trade request and walked away with everything he wanted. Baltimore can afford to be patient, but right now, Jackson can afford it more.