The Baltimore Ravens have reportedly agreed to terms on a new, five-year deal with quarterback Lamar Jackson, which will make him the highest-paid player in NFL history, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport initially reported on Thursday (April 27).
"Sources: Lamar Jackson and the #Ravens have agreed to terms. He has his deal,"
Rapoport said Jackson's new contract, which he referred to as a "mega deal," had "trumped" the extension that the Eagles recently gave to Jalen Hurts, which made Hurts the highest-paid player in NFL history, later specifying that Jackson's new contract was a five-year, $260 million deal, with $185 million guaranteed.
"Once Jalen Hurts' deal got done, Baltimore stepped up and offered him a deal that trumped it," Rapoport tweeted.
Jackson confirmed the reported five-year contract extension in a video shared on the Ravens official Twitter account shortly after Rapoport's initial report.
Jackson tweeted a gif of Spongebob Squarepants smiling Tuesday (April 25) night without explanation, which led to prior speculation that he re-signed with the Ravens following prior uncertainty during the offseason.
The Ravens placed a non-exclusive franchise tag on Jackson after the two sides previously failed to reach an agreement on a long-term contract prior to the franchise tag deadline. A non-exclusive franchise tag allowed Baltimore to either match another team's offer to sign Jackson or receive trade compensation.
Jackson announced that he had requested a trade in March after the Ravens had "not been interested in meeting my value" during negotiations on a long-term deal and later decided to instead place a $32.4 million non-exclusive franchise tag on him. The Ravens had until 4:00 p.m. ET on March 7 to notify the league about its franchise tag decision to place a non-exclusive franchise tag on Jackson earlier this month.
Jackson led Baltimore to an 8-4 record, which included throwing for 2,242 yards, 17 touchdowns and seven interceptions on 203 of 326 passing, while also recording a team best 764 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns on 112 attempts, prior to suffering a season-ending PCL injury. The Ravens ranked ninth among all 32 NFL teams with an average of 23.1 points per game during Jackson's 12 starts, but dropped to 13.0 points per game, the second fewest in the league, while going 2-3 in his absence during their final five games of the regular-season.
The Ravens reportedly offered Jackson a rejected deal worth $113 million in guarantees that would have "eventually raised" to a total of $113 million, a source with knowledge of the situation told ESPN's Ryan Clark in January.
Jackson, a former NFL MVP and Offensive Rookie of the Year, has spent his entire NFL career with the Ravens since being selected No. 32 overall in the 2018 NFL Draft.
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