Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson. (Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports)
Now that Jalen Hurts has gotten paid by the Eagles, does the contract offer the Ravens reportedly gave Lamar Jackson match up?
Jalen Hurts is now the highest paid player in the NFL thanks to his new five-year contract extension worth $255 million.
The Eagles quarterback is coming off an outstanding performance in the Super Bowl, despite being on the losing side. Philadelphia was eager to get him locked in ahead of his impending free agency in 2024.
The Ravens weren’t able to get their star quarterback extended before the nightmare of free agency arrived. Baltimore has been embroiled in a contract dispute with Lamar Jackson, making him a restricted free agent.
So what does Hurts’ deal mean for Jackson?
Comparing the Lamar Jackson offer to Jalen Hurts’ contract
Comparing the #Ravens offer to Lamar Jackson and Jalen Hurts’ new contract is complicated. But clarity:
Hurts: $179.3M guaranteed for injury.
Lamar: $175M guaranteed for injury.
$200M becomes guaranteed for skill, injury, cap in March 2026. So $175M guaranteed, becomes $200M. https://t.co/9De4wVkUcC
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 17, 2023
Jackson had reportedly been seeking a fully-guaranteed contract. The closest the Ravens had come to that was an offer of a five-year, $250 million deal with guarantees that could rise as high as $200 million. That deal reportedly included $133 million guaranteed at signing, a total of $175 million guaranteed in case of injury with $25 million more guaranteed if Jackson remained on the roster in 2026.
Hurts’ deal reportedly includes $110 million guaranteed at signing with $179 million guaranteed for injury.
So the offers aren’t terribly far off.
Still, it would seem the issue for Jackson and the Ravens may still be structural. Albert Breer of the MMQB had this to say: “The problem, I believe, with that for Jackson was the non-guaranteed years on the end of the deal.”
Hurts’ contract may lend some market clarity to the negotiations between Jackson and Ravens, but the two sides clearly have more to work through.
Source : FanSided