Lamar Jackson reluctant about potential extension despite Ravens willingness in notable twist

The Ravens want to make Lamar Jackson the NFL’s highest-paid quarterback.The quarterback just isn’t willing to go there yet.In an interesting twist, the parties have not had any notable extension talks and Jackson is being viewed as “reluctant” about the possibility, according to ESPN.Jackson reportedly will enter Sunday’s season-opening road game against the Colts without a new deal and a new contract is not expected in the near future.ESPN reported that Jackson would rather focus on football, but it’s notable that Baltimore is making it clear that they’re willing to break the bank for Jackson and he’s the one holding up a potential deal.Owner Steve Bisciotti said in January he wants “Jackson as my quarterback,” while adding that signing the former Louisville star to an extension before free agency this past March was a priority.“If he doesn’t want to do an extension, then we throw those $74 million out into void years, and Lamar’s coming back at the same cap number he was last year,” Bisciotti said, per The Athletic.“That’s not what we want.

We want another window, and Lamar knows that.I think that he’s amenable to doing something that mirrors the last deal he did, although the annual number will be a little higher.

But I’m hoping that it’s plug a new number into the same contract he signed last year and move on.“And the urgency of that matters to me because we’ve got free agents, and I don’t want to go into free agency with that hanging over our head.I made that clear to Lamar, and I think he was very appreciative of my stance.”Free agency came and went without a deal and so did training camp, and Jackson carries an $84.3 million cap hit for the 2027 season that the team would surely like to lower via a new deal.This is the fourth year of a five-year, $260 million extension he signed in 2023, and he would become a free agent after the 2028 campaign without a new deal.Jackson is viewed around the league as the sport...