Baltimore Ravens, Lamar Jackson fail to reach contract extension

Lamar Jackson’s self-imposed deadline to reach an agreement on a contract extension has arrived, and with no deal in place, the Baltimore Ravens‘ superstar QB will play this season under his fifth-year option.

Ravens General Manager Eric DeCosta released the following statement Friday morning.

“Despite best efforts on both sides, we were unable to reach a contract extension with Lamar Jackson,” DeCosta said. “We greatly appreciate how he has handled this process and we are excited about our team with Lamar leading the way. We will continue to work towards a long-term contract after the season, but for now we are looking forward to a successful 2022 campaign.”

Jackson is now set to make $23.016 million this year and would be eligible to be franchise tagged next season, which could pay him north of $45 million. If he isn’t tagged, he’ll become an unrestricted free agent.

The Ravens’ star QB is one of the few players in the NFL who represents himself. He had been working with DeCosta and the Ravens’ brass to get an extension done ahead of Friday so he could focus on the season ahead without distraction.

“Come kickoff, I will not be talking about a contract,” Jackson stated earlier in the week. “I’m thinking straight Jets around kickoff time.”

Jackson and the Ravens are set to kick off the 2022-23 NFL season against the Jets on Sunday.