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The Ravens restructured quarterback Lamar Jackson’s contract, freeing up about $40 million in salary cap space before the start of the NFL’s new league year Wednesday.
Jackson was set to count $74.5 million against the cap in 2026, which was the second-highest figure in the NFL and represented nearly a quarter of the Ravens’ total space. By converting a portion of his $51.3 million base salary in 2026 into a signing bonus, the Ravens can spread out his cap hit.
General manager Eric DeCosta said Wednesday the Ravens added a third void year, in 2030, as part of the restructure. Jackson is set to become a free agent after the 2027 season, but teams can include void years to defray costs over the span of a contract.
The two sides “kind of ran out of time” negotiating a contract extension, which would also lower Jackson’s 2027 cap hit and secure his long-term future in Baltimore, DeCosta said. He’s hopeful a deal will get done.
“I think it’s important to both parties, but we remain to see what’s going to take place in the future,” he said.
The contract restructure does not prevent the sides from continuing to discuss a new deal, and DeCosta said he doesn’t feel the maneuver changed the dynamic of their negotiations.
In January, owner Steve Bisciotti reiterated his commitment to Jackson, a two-time NFL Most Valuable Player, and said he hoped the quarterback would sign a top-of-the-market deal that would give the Ravens more spending power in free agency.
“You can play with that money all you want. That’s not what we want,” Bisciotti said. “We want another window, and Lamar knows that. I think that he’s amenable to doing something that mirrors the last deal he did.”
The record-setting five-year, $260 million deal Jackson signed in 2023 included $185 million in guaranteed money and a backloaded salary structure ($51.3 million in base salary). His cap hit in 2027 was originally $74.5 million, a figure that will rise by at least $10 million after the restructure.
Jackson, who doesn’t have a certified agent representing him in contract talks, has said he wants to remain in Baltimore. But if negotiations remain at an impasse throughout the offseason, as they did for over two years before he signed his last deal, speculation will intensify about how long he might wait to sign his next deal.
Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott’s four-year, $240 million contract remains the richest by average annual value in NFL history, but the deal is nearly 18 months old. Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud, who’s eligible for a contract extension this offseason, could reset the market and establish a new baseline for Jackson.
Three of the league’s top young quarterbacks — the New England Patriots’ Drake Maye, the Chicago Bears’ Caleb Williams and the Washington Commanders’ Jayden Daniels — could top it when they become eligible next offseason.
Without a new deal this offseason, uncertainty would hang over Jackson’s first year with new coach Jesse Minter. Because Jackson’s extension includes language barring the Ravens from designating him with a franchise tag or trading him without his approval, he could force his way to free agency after the 2027 season, when a bidding war likely would drive up his price.
Jackson’s restructured contract will help the team afford Pro Bowl edge rusher Trey Hendrickson, who agreed to a four-year deal worth up to $120 million. The Ravens lost a bidding war for Pro Bowl center Tyler Linderbaum and watched other key pending free agents leave during the NFL’s legal tampering period. Entering Friday, the Ravens had just $8.1 million in “effective” cap space, according to Over The Cap.
Reworking Jackson’s contract was always seen as key to a potentially transformative offseason. DeCosta acknowledged in January that an extension would allow the Ravens to “potentially go after a couple of big-ticket items.” The team initially had a deal to acquire Las Vegas Raiders star defensive end Maxx Crosby before backing out Tuesday, apparently over medical concerns.
“We haven’t traditionally done that,” DeCosta said of taking an aggressive approach in free agency. “We’ve been more reserved when it comes to free agency. We like the amount of draft picks we have this year. We do have money to go out and re-sign guys … but having more money would be helpful, for sure.”
Jackson, who hasn’t spoken publicly since the Ravens’ season-ending loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers knocked them out of playoff contention, will enter offseason workouts this spring with a new coach and a new offense. But the pressure to deliver a bounce-back year after a disappointing 2025 will be familiar.
Hampered by lower-body injuries and an underwhelming offensive line, Jackson struggled with his accuracy over the second half of the season (59.9% completion percentage after his Week 4 hamstring injury) and finished with a career-low 349 rushing yards and a career-high 10.7% sack rate. The Ravens, widely considered a Super Bowl favorite in the preseason, started 1-5 and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2021.
This article has been updated.
