Quarterback Lamar Jackson has led the Baltimore Ravens to an AFC-best 5-1 record through the first six games of the 2021 season, taking down the Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Chargers along the way.
Jackson is playing to his full potential here in his fourth year. After the Ravens’ 34-6 victory against the Chargers Oct. 17, he now has 1,686 passing yards, 392 rushing yards and 11 all-purpose touchdowns. His passing total is good for eighth best in the NFL.
With great play will come an even greater paycheck, as Jackson is still playing on his rookie contract. Baltimore picked up his fifth-year option for $23 million, a drastic increase over the $3 million he is set to make this season. But if he can continue this impressive pace for the remaining 11 games of the season, the Ravens’ quarterback will get paid handsomely.
“Because of the modern passing game, the franchise quarterback, someone you can win because of rather than with, someone you can build around for 10-12 years, and someone who, importantly, [can] … elevate his level of play in critical situations to take a team through victory. Well, Lamar Jackson can do all that,” American sports super agent Leigh Steinberg said on Glenn Clark Radio Oct. 14 regarding Jackson’s prospects for a massive contract extension.
“The value has gone sky high,” he added. “That’s become the most critical position on a football team. So we’re now seeing that quarterbacks are getting the same type of compensation packages as major stars are in basketball and in baseball, and that’s a first.”
After winning the MVP award unanimously in 2019, Jackson has continued to increase his impact on the gridiron. His MVP honors came after he passed for 3,127 yards, 36 touchdowns and 66.1 percent completion rate. Through six games, Jackson is on pace to record his most passing yards ever at a higher percentage than in any of the previous three years.
Steinberg, who represents 2018 MVP and Super Bowl champion Patrick Mahomes, is no stranger to large deals. It is Mahomes’ 10-year, $450 million extension, about $141.5 million of which is guaranteed, signed in 2020 that holds the current record for largest contract in the NFL. Steinberg believes Jackson’s impending contract could rival that of the Chiefs superstar.
“That $40-50 million [per year] range is the new standard. You saw that Deshaun Watson signed something similar, Dak Prescott signed something similar,” Steinberg said. “You’ve got someone who is arguably, along with Patrick and Aaron Rodgers, the most valuable player in the game, and that will command that superstar package with some guarantees and long-term compensation in the $40-50 million range.”
Questions have been raised about Jackson’s ability to stay healthy while continuing his dual-threat attack, with the idea being that running the football raises the risk of injury for a quarterback. What plays in Jackson’s favor, according to Steinberg, is his ability to throw the football with authority and use his legs as a secondary option as opposing defenses try to compensate for the passing game.
“That’s his game and what makes him such a superb offensive weapon. He can throw with pinpoint accuracy, but then the minute that you drop back to cover the receivers then he’ll run the ball,” Steinberg said. “He doesn’t run like a quarterback. He runs amazingly [like] a running back. His angles and his cuts are such that he’s really difficult to take down.”
“It reminds me of Steve Young … if you rush him too hard he’ll run by you the other way and if you sit back he’ll pass you to death,” he added. “So you’re really up against it when you face the Ravens.”
While the remaining 11 games of the Ravens’ schedule will provide a complete scope of where the team stands among the NFL’s best, the coming stretch will allow Jackson to strut his stuff. After a game against the 4-2 Cincinnati Bengals Oct. 24, Baltimore will not play a team that is currently above .500 until Week 14, when Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers visit M&T Bank Stadium Dec. 19.
For more from Steinberg, listen to the full interview here:
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