Lamar Jackson is now the highest-paid player in the NFL, surpassing Jalen Hurts’ new deal with his five-year contract with the Ravens.
Lamar Jackson wanted a bag and he got one on Thursday just before the start of the 2023 NFL Draft.
The Ravens and Jackson agreed to a five-year deal, putting aside all the drama from earlier this year as negotiations on a new contract stalled and the quarterback requested a trade. And they did it with a perfectly chosen GIF.
Now, Jackson is the highest paid player in the NFL, surpassing Jalen Hurts, who held the title for 10 days with his $255 million contract from the Eagles.
So what does Jackson’s contract look like? Did he get the fully-guaranteed deal he wanted?
Lamar Jackson contract details revealed: Ravens make QB highest paid in NFL
According to Josina Anderson of CBS Sports, Jackson’s contract is worth $260 million with the total guaranteed portion of the deal worth $185 million.
Jackson will now average $52 million per year, though the actual structure of the deal has not been detailed.
Reports originally indicated that Jackson was looking for a fully-guaranteed deal like DeShaun Watson. But that contract looked like an outlier even before Hurts agreed to his deal.
Either way, it looks like Jackson is getting paid the big bucks and he did it without an agent so he won’t be paying out any fees on that giant deal.
Jackson’s new deal will keep in him Baltimore through 2027, but it’ll also help the Ravens in 2023 as they look to build a Super Bowl contender around him. Jackson’s cap number, which was going to be $32 million, is expected to go down far enough for the team to make other potentially major personnel moves.
Charles Robinson has already suggested Baltimore could get involved in a trade for Cardinals wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins. Jackson had reportedly told the Ravens that he wanted Odell Beckham Jr. and Hopkins if he was going to return.
