The Baltimore Ravens may want to get Lamar Jackson extended before the 2026 season begins, but the quarterback is still sitting on a deal that gives him real control over what happens next.
That’s the warning Domonique Foxworth put out on a recent edition of his “The Domonique Foxworth Show.” The former NFL player and current analyst made it clear that Jackson’s contract setup leaves Baltimore in a tough spot.
“Lamar has the decision next year, and it seems like he orchestrated it,” Foxworth explained, per Douglas Santo of Pro Football & Sports Network. “Lamar has a no-trade and a no-franchise-tag clause, and a plus-$80M cap hit… Great quarterbacks don't become free agents, but normally they get to the end of their contract, and the team has some leverage in a franchise tag or some way to be able to start negotiations.
Or, like [Patrick Mahomes] and [Josh Allen], they just renegotiate way ahead of time. The idea that Lamar has all that leverage headed into this season, and then a lot of changes were made.”
Foxworth went even further, describing Jackson’s situation as something that looks a lot like the NBA.
“It feels like he's put himself in a very NBA -style situation where it's like, 'I can do what I want at the end of the season. So let's get it right,'" Foxworth added about Jackson.
"So that to me is huge because they're not gonna cut him, but they also can't exist with a player with an $80M cap hit next year. At the end of the season, he can decide what he wants to do.
If he wants to sign the extension, or if they offer him an extension he doesn't like, be like, 'All right, well, I'll play for $80M, or you trade me to exactly who I want to go play for. That's huge."
Jackson’s contract situation has already sparked plenty of speculation. Earlier this month, one report said he could be headed toward a fully guaranteed extension worth as much as $275M to keep him in Baltimore. But there’s also the possibility that he waits things out and resets the market for quarterbacks in 2027.
The rumors haven’t stopped there, either. A recent report claimed New York Jets owner Woody Johnson may already be imagining a future that pairs former Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin with Jackson next year. Another story said Tomlin allegedly wants “to receive a piece of the team from” Johnson and “would entertain the possibility of returning to the sidelines in 2027.”
NFL insider Jason La Canfora of Sports Illustrated also recently said Jackson has “made it abundantly clear he is 'cool' playing this contract out,” is “betting on himself” and believes “he can't really lose.”
All of that points to the same reality for Baltimore: if the Ravens want Jackson happy, and want to avoid letting this drag into a much messier situation, they may need to move sooner rather than later.
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