BALTIMORE — Lamar Jackson broke his silence on his contract negotiations with the Ravens on Tuesday. As is often the case when it comes to Baltimore’s quarterback, though, what he actually said was cryptic.
The 2019 NFL Most Valuable Player seemed to dispute an ESPN report by NFL insider Adam Schefter that he turned down a $200 million guaranteed deal from the Ravens in September, tweeting an animated gif in response.
Then Jackson, who is representing himself in contract negotiations, added another response: “133/3 years fully guaranteed but I need a agent?”
For good measure, he added, “People throw [poop emoji] at the wall and hope it stick.”
What’s not clear is whether the reported three-year, $133 million offer was its own deal or part of a larger offer from the Ravens. Later on Tuesday, Schefter responded to Jackson’s tweet, clarifying the parameters of the supposed deal.
That deal, which was reported in September, included $133 million guaranteed at signing, according to Schefter and ESPN reporter Chris Mortensen. It also included injury guarantees that would bring it to $175 million — something that would be all but certain given a $70 million cap hit if the Ravens released him. On top of that was another $25 million guaranteed, according to Schefter, if Jackson was on the roster on the fifth day of the 2026 league year.
“The deal that was offered to him, and these are just the facts from the contract, no spin, no nothing, $175 [million], that was the real guarantee, with injury, that Lamar Jackson turned down,” Schefter said Tuesday on ESPN.
It has been widely speculated that Jackson, on whom the Ravens placed the nonexclusive franchise tag last week, is said to be looking for a contract close to the five-year, fully guaranteed $230 million deal that the Cleveland Browns handed Deshaun Watson last year.
Meanwhile, it remains to be seen whether Jackson will play on the roughly $32.4 million tag or sign a deal with another franchise. Jackson, who has not spoken to reporters since suffering a season-ending knee injury Dec. 4, can begin talking to other teams when free agency officially opens Wednesday at 4 p.m.
Should Jackson sign elsewhere, the Ravens would have five days to match the offer sheet. If they don’t, they would get two first-round draft picks from that team in return.
Since placing the nonexclusive tag on Jackson last week, the Ravens have made moves to get under the league’s $225 million salary cap, which they must do by 4 p.m. Wednesday, by reportedly agreeing to trade safety Chuck Clark to the New York Jets, restructuring deals for nose tackle Michael Pierce, running back Gus Edwards and right guard Kevin Zeitler, and releasing respected veteran defensive lineman Calais Campbell.
