Lamar Jackson says he wants to stay with Ravens long term but is mum on negotiations

Join the huddle. Sign up here for Ravens updates in your inbox.

Rubbing his chin, Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson thought about his first contract question of 2026 before defaulting to his typical answer.

“I was thinking about how I was going to respond to this question if I got it, but, you know, I’m going to give you the same answer I always give,” he said. “I just want to keep those conversations private.”

Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti had expressed a desire to have a contract extension for the two-time MVP quarterback completed by the start of free agency in March. But general manager Eric DeCosta later said they “ran out of time,” forcing the team to restructure Jackson’s contract instead.

Jackson evaded the second question about his contract, but the third one got one more detail out of him: He “absolutely” wants to stay in Baltimore.

“I love the Ravens,” Jackson said. “I love this organization. I love this city. Just the team that drafted me, you know, got a lot of love from me.”

In restructuring Jackson’s contract, the Ravens reduced his 2026 cap hit from $74.5 million to $34.39 million by converting his salary into a signing bonus. However, his 2027 cap hit increases to a whopping $84.34 million.

The maneuver also created void years in Jackson’s contract, meaning that if the Ravens don’t agree to an extension with him, they will have to account for $42.47 million on their cap in 2028 even if he is no longer with the team.

Jackson declined to say whether he plans to play out the season without a new deal. If he does so and has a strong year, he could be in line for an even bigger contract.

The 2028 offseason could see some high-dollar deals in the quarterback market when the 2024 draft class’s rookie contracts are up. Six quarterbacks were taken in the first round that year, including Chicago’s Caleb Williams, Washington’s Jayden Daniels, Denver’s Bo Nix and New England’s Drake Maye, who took his team to the Super Bowl last season.

And while those teams could pick up their quarterbacks’ fifth-year options, there’s also a good chance they will try to lock up their stars on long-term deals before then. Jackson could wait to see what contracts they command and then ask for more.

He also said leaked conversations between him and DeCosta from their last contract negotiation do not offer insight into how this year’s talks are going. The earlier exchanges came to light last June as part of an NFL Players Association collusion grievance claiming team owners worked together to prevent players, including Jackson, from receiving fully guaranteed deals.

An arbitrator found the NFL Management Council and Commissioner Roger Goodell had “encouraged” teams to reduce guarantees at the 2022 owners’ meeting.

The arbitrator ultimately ruled that NFL teams “did not join in such a collusive agreement.”

Head coach Jesse Minter has followed DeCosta’s approach of keeping all conversations with Jackson private.