Lamar Jackson, Baker Mayfield contract questions lead NFL training camps biggest storylines
July in the NFL is about money and mayhem.Which contract extensions get done? Which don’t … and create bad blood?Who gets released or traded — and how do those moves reshape contenders?Whose injury recovery isn’t as promising as originally advertised?Who lands in hot water off the field?Here are seven things unsettled as the NFL creeps toward the start of training camps:Jackson’s contract negotiations are historically unpredictable.The two-time MVP is signed through 2027, and Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti is committed to extending him, though it seemed last season that Jackson and the team weren’t always on the same page.Enter a new coaching staff.Patrick Mahomes’ new contract pays him a top-of-market $64 million average annual value.Will the Ravens go there for Jackson?Mayfield set a deadline for the Buccaneers: New deal by the start of training camp or play out the season.
He has outperformed his rank as the No.16-highest paid quarterback ($33.3 million AAV) over the past two seasons and wants to find a “middle ground,” though reports say the sides remain far apart.Aiyuk’s four-year, $120 million extension with the 49ers is in the conversation for worst-ever contract considering head coach Kyle Shanahan intervened to stop a September 2024 trade to the Steelers because the receiver was coming off a 1,342-yard season.
Since then, Aiyuk has played seven games due to a combination of injury and a bitter feud that included the 49ers voiding his guaranteed money.And yet the more he uses unhinged social-media rants to try to talk his way out of town — and to the Commanders and with former Arizona State teammate Jayden Daniels — the more the 49ers seem to dig their heels in on not releasing him.And the fewer suitors seem eager to add a potential locker-room cancer.“He’s not doing himself any favors,” one NFL source told The Post.The 2024 NFL leader in touchdowns from scrimmage (Lions’ Gibbs, 20) and 2025 leader in yards from scrimmage (Fa...