Ravens' Lamar Jackson holds all the contract leverage because of 2028
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Ravens' Lamar Jackson holds all the contract leverage because of 2028 originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Lamar Jackson may not have an agent, but he has to know that he holds control over the Baltimore Ravens in new contract negotiations.
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The Ravens need to find a way to at least restructure Jackson's deal because of his massive upcoming cap hit, but they'd also be wise to extend him long-term.
Why? Because right now, Jackson can become a free agent after the 2027 season.
That's his leverage. Baltimore can't afford to wait too long.
"Here’s the key," Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio wrote in a new article. "Jackson has a no-tag clause. Come March 2028, he’ll be a free agent. Unrestricted. Unfettered. He’ll be able to sign with any team. Assuming (and it may not be a safe assumption) that Jackson’s decision to pursue a collusion claim (along with Kyler Murray and Russell Wilson) won’t be held against him, Jackson would become the rarest of free agents — a winner of multiple league MVP awards who becomes a true free agent while still in his prime."
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Maybe the Ravens have concerns about the way Jackson's mobile game will age. Maybe they have concerns about his lack of winning in the playoffs.
But the reality is that quarterbacks like Jackson don't come around very often, and teams can't let them leave if they want to stay.
Baltimore and Jackson seem more likely than not to eventually reach an agreement on a big-money, long-term deal.
The Ravens can't afford to let him go, so they'll have to afford to keep him around, no matter the cost. And they've only got a couple years to nail down the details.