ExtremeRavens Posted August 29 Posted August 29 The first domino has fallen for the Ravens. But now that the future of their most important defensive player, Kyle Hamilton, is secured after making the 24-year-old two-time Pro Bowl selection, 2021 All-Pro and “unicorn” the highest paid safety in the NFL with a four-year extension on Wednesday worth a whopping $100.4 million, a pertinent if not pressing question lingers. What about quarterback and two-time NFL Most Valuable Player Lamar Jackson? Currently, Jackson, 28, is under contract through the 2027 season. However, with his salary cap hit skyrocketing from $43.5 million this season to a prohibitive $74.5 million in 2026 and 2027, the clock is already ticking for Baltimore to try to sign him to an extension sooner than later. Talks have begun between the two sides, and while it’s unclear what if any progress has been made, it’s unlikely a deal will get done in the immediate future. “I like to work kind of in the dark, quietly and try and get as much done as we can,” general manager Eric DeCosta said earlier this week. “It takes two to tango, certainly.” It’s not an easy proposition — for either side. When Jackson inked his most recent deal — $260 million over five years — during the 2023 offseason, it briefly made him the highest-paid player in the sport. Three months later, Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert surpassed him and the gulf has only grown since, with six others having higher total contracts and nine others with a higher average annual value. Some of the names ahead of Jackson’s in terms of average annual value also paint the picture. Tua Tagovailoa, Trevor Lawrence, Jordan Love and Dak Prescott, who tops the list at $60 million a year, all have lesser resumes yet make more per year. The current trend around the league of the rising percentage a quarterback’s contract chews up of a team’s salary cap also illuminates the challenges that lay ahead. From 2012 through 2018, for example, only two quarterbacks per year accounted for at least 17% of a team’s salary cap each season, according to Spotrac. That percentage has rapidly increased since, from five in 2019 to nine in 2022 to 12, 13 and 11 each of the past three years. Currently, Jackson’s contract eats up 15.6% of Baltimore’s cap room for 2025. By comparison, Hamilton’s new contract now takes up roughly 9% this year. The Ravens also have other considerations to weigh with Pro Bowl center Tyler Linderbaum, emergent tight end Isaiah Likely, ascending defensive tackle Travis Jones and outside linebacker Odafe Oweh, who is coming off a career-high 10 sacks last season, all scheduled to be free agents after this season. Would a potential impasse with Jackson limit DeCosta’s ability to get significant deals done with those players or others? “I don’t think so,” he said. “Basically, it just comes down to who are those guys going to be?” That means that some tough decisions will have to be made. Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta speaks to the media following their signing of safety Kyle Hamilton. DeCosta has more deals to make, including a possible extension for two-time MVP Lamar Jackson. (Kevin Richardson/Staff) “As I’ve said a thousand times, we can’t keep everybody and so unfortunately, you’re going to see some good players probably in the next couple of years play for other teams,” DeCosta said. “We’ve seen that. That’s going to be something that continues. “Back in 2019, we really kind of said we were going to try and keep as much of our talent as we could. We’ve tried to do that, but we are in a salary cap league, and so that’s the reality. We’ll try to get as creative as possible.” Creativity also only goes so far, though. The last time Jackson, who does not have an agent and represents himself, and the Ravens negotiated, the process dragged into a two-year long saga that was at times contentious and included a trade demand. Along the way, Jackson expressed his desire for the entirety of his contract to be fully guaranteed, rejected two three-year offers and at one point claimed the microphone on his cell phone was not working and thus could not communicate with DeCosta, according to an arbitration hearing over a November 2022 grievance filed by the NFL Players Association against the league over concerns about teams colluding to limit fully guaranteed contracts. Whether the process this time around leads to similar angst for Baltimore and DeCosta remains to be seen, but Jackson’s preternatural abilities along with his unique fit will likely have the quarterback in no hurry. If there is something working in the Ravens’ favor, however, is that the majority of the game’s top quarterbacks are already locked into high-priced long-term deals and not immediately in line for extensions. Still, there are some exceptions, and the price will be significant after the San Francisco 49ers’ Brock Purdy signed a five-year, $265 million extension in May. Most likely at the top of the list is the Houston Texans’ C.J. Stroud, who is entering his third season and is just two years removed from being the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2023. Though Stroud took a step back last season in yards and passing touchdowns while throwing more interceptions, the expectations are high, and if he delivers that could lead to a new deal in 2026. That would be in line with the trend of other top quarterbacks, including Lawrence, Herbert, Joe Burrow and Jalen Hurts, all of whom signed big-money deals after their third year in the league. Whenever the Ravens and Jackson come together on the next contract — something that is more a question of when and for how much more than if — there’s at least one thing the sides already agree on: not discussing it publicly (at least for the moment). “You know I never discuss contract situations here,” Jackson said in June. “I don’t want to talk about it.” Asked if becoming the highest paid player in the NFL sounded good to him, however, he conceded with a smile, “It sounds good.” In the meantime, DeCosta and his vice president of football administration Nick Matteo will keep crunching the numbers to keep their window of being a Super Bowl contender open. “I hate that idea of just a closed window,” DeCosta said. “Being a GM on a closed window team gives me anxiety, and I don’t want to be that GM.” Have a news tip? Contact Brian Wacker at bwacker@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/brianwacker1. View the full article Quote
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