Arizona Cardinals Pro-Bowl quarterback, Kyler Murray, received a five-year $230 million extension on Thursday. The deal gives Murray $46.1 million per year, the second-highest paid quarterback average (behind Aaron Rodgers). Following Murray’s contract extension, all eyes point to Lamar Jackson, who is the next quarterback in line for a pay raise.
Earlier this off-season, Jackson skipped voluntary OTAs. His absence led to some speculation over his future. However, since then, Jackson reported to mandatory minicamp, where he said in a press conference that he expects to be a Baltimore Raven for the entirety of his career.
Therefore, Jackson’s contract extension with the Baltimore Ravens is inevitable. All that needs to be sorted are the terms, but the expectation is that Jackson will remain in Baltimore long term.
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What’s Next For Lamar Jackson After the Kyler Murray Contract?
The former Louisville Cardinal is currently in his fourth season in the NFL. Drafted at the back end of the 2018 NFL Draft, Jackson found himself in the perfect franchise in Baltimore.
After sitting out a large part of his rookie year, Jackson’s sophomore year was when he truly broke out. The freakishly athletic quarterback won himself an MVP in 2019, before following up with two more solid years. The truth is, Jackson has achieved far more in the league than Murray has, giving him leverage to ask for more money than the former Oklahoma Sooner.
It was rumored that the Ravens were reluctant to sign Jackson to a long-term contract due to his injury-riddled 2021 season. However, Murray has had his fair share of injuries over 2020 and 2021, and so Jackson will demand long-term contract security by referencing this.
According to Adam Schefter, Murray’s contract is said to have $160 million guaranteed. Cardinals insider Mike Jurecki has suggested otherwise though. Jurecki tweeted that he believed the guaranteed money sat closer to $100 million.
Regardless of the number, the main takeaway from this is that Murray’s contract is not fully guaranteed. Prior to this extension, many had speculated that the league would be turning towards more fully-guaranteed contracts. This was due to the Cleveland Browns paying Deshaun Watson $230 million guaranteed over five years. Murray’s contract is more conventional in the sense that not all of it is guaranteed. With this news, it can be expected that Jackson’s contract should be similar to Murray’s in terms of guarantees.
In all, expect Jackson to receive a long-term contract that will pay more than $46 million per year. It is unlikely that the contract will be fully guaranteed, however.
