The first Sunday slate of the 2022 NFL season is officially upon us, which means Lamar Jackson and the Ravens will have to wait until 2023 to talk shop.
Jackson, who is set to enter the final year of his rookie contract, made it known publicly that he wasn't interested in negotiating a new contract with Baltimore during the season. Well, Jackson's self-imposed Friday deadline is now in the rearview mirror and the 2019 league MVP still is without long-term security.
This apparently isn't due to the Ravens' lack of trying, however. In a column published Sunday morning, NFL Media's Ian Rapoport shed light on the extension offer Jackson received -- but ultimately turned down -- from Baltimore.
"Sources say Jackson was offered a deal that eclipsed that of Broncos QB Russell Wilson in key areas, with Baltimore's attempted extension being more than the $49 million per year in average new money that Wilson received on Sept. 1," Rapoport wrote for NFL.com. "The belief is that it also approached or beat Wilson in terms of guaranteed money, with Wilson receiving 68% of his deal guaranteed.
"It was nearly that of Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who will earn $50 million per year over the next three years in a highly guaranteed deal struck in March. With regards to guaranteed money, it fell short of the $230 million, fully guaranteed deal that Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson received after Cleveland traded for Watson in March."
To say it fell short of Watson's guaranteed money is an understatement. According to ESPN's Chris Mortensen, the Ravens' offer for Jackson included $133 million in guaranteed dough. That would have been $9 million and roughly $30 million more than what Wilson and Kyler Murray received in their offseason deals, respectively, but nearly $100 million less than what the Cleveland Browns shelled out for Watson.
As for potential next steps for Jackson and the Ravens, Baltimore is eligible to apply the franchise tag to the superstar signal-caller for both the 2023 and 2024 seasons. A quarterback tag next year would be valued at $45.4 million and it projects to move up to $54.5 million in 2024, per Spotrac.
Jackson and the Ravens will open their season Sunday afternoon when they visit the New York Jets.
