NFL Transfers & Rumours
Lamar Jackson Extension Stalemate Deepens as Patrick Mahomes Resets QB Market Again
Baltimore Ravens v Kansas City Chiefs by Amy Kontras | Getty Images
Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, a two-time NFL Most Valuable Player, completed the team’s offseason program this week and departed Baltimore nowhere closer to a contract extension, according to league sources, while fellow former MVP Patrick Mahomes reset the QB market again despite coming off major surgery.
Mahomes new deal, which includes a lot of filler and fluff in later years, boils down to him earning an average of $64M a season beginning in 2027, effectively raising the stakes from the $60M a year set by Dak Prescott’s most recent deal in Dallas.
The Ravens have been habitually late and reticent to give Jackson top-market deals, with him always a year behind fellow-2018 first-round pick Josh Allen (Buffalo), and Mahomes has now had his contract torn up three times in the past six years alone.
This latest turn in the market has cast further doubt in front offices around the NFL about the Ravens’ willingness or intent to meet Jackson’s contract demands (which have included fully-guaranteed deals in the past), and Jackson rebuffed media attempts to discuss the lingering situation, essentially saying he “was cool” with playing out 2026 on the restructured contract he has.
His cap hit in 2027 of near $90M essentially makes that year null and void.
What Now?
As to how this latest Mahomes mega-deal impacts the Ravens negotiation, one NFL GM said: “It’s not going to make it any cheaper.”
Numerous NFL executives and agents have told SportsBoom they expect Jackson to eventually request a trade, as he did in the past, with his timeline for getting a new deal consistently behind his peers, even when his production is historically significant.
“If he’s not signed by Week 1, I don’t think he’s back (in 2027),” one longtime personnel executive said.
“Something keeps holding them back… Something’s not right there.”
The initial negotiations between Jackson and the team were long and arduous, with him having to play out a franchise to eventually get what he wanted.
The Eagles' contract with Jalen Hurts provided a major data point that helped them find common ground.
Mahomes effectively getting $64M/year guaranteed over four straight years could quite possibly have the opposite impact.
Editor's Insight
Baltimore are once again trailing the QB market, and Mahomes’ new deal only tightens the pressure on them to act. The longer this drags on, the more noise builds around Jackson’s future. From a betting angle, any delay into the season could see short-term value open up in extension and next-team markets before things settle.
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La Canfora has covered over 20 Super Bowls and League Meetings and NFL drafts, building a wide network of sources throughout all aspects of the game. He was an award winning print journalist as well, working at The Detroit Free Press and The Baltimore Sun prior to his first stint at The Washington Post. He has covered sporting events around the world, including two Winter Olympics and all of the 2006 World Cup. He attended his first NFL game in 1978, and would soon kindle what has become a lifelong love and appreciation of the sport. La Canfora is also a professional handicapper, specializing in the NFL, creating a daily sports wagering game show - "Wanna Bet?" He also hosts nationally broadcast NFL radio shows in the US, as well as a daily sports radio show in his hometown of Baltimore, Maryland.