Lamar Jackson continues to hold the cards in contract talks with the Ravens

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When Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson signed his second NFL contract in 2023, he became the highest paid player in the NFL. Two years later, he had slipped down the top-10 list. Jackson understandably began the process of seeking an adjustment. A year later, it hasn't happened. The Ravens have said they want to do it . Most will assume the delay traces to Jackson's decision to negotiate his deals without an agent. The 2025 collusion grievance (based in part of Jackson's past failure to get a fully-guaranteed deal) included evidence that communication issues between Jackson and the Ravens at one point happened because the microphone on Jackson's phone was broken . Because neither side will ever say much, if anything, about Jackson's contract (he insists on maximum secrecy, which is wise), no one knows whether offers have been made. All that's known is no deal is done. And while Jackson continues to play for less than he should be getting, relative to the market, he holds the cards in the lingering impasse. He has two years left on his current contract, with a total payout of $105 million. While none of it is guaranteed, Jackson's risk of getting released is extremely low. Here's the key. Jackson has a no-tag clause. Come March 2028, he'll be a free agent. Unrestricted. Unfettered. He'll be able to sign with any team. Assuming (and it may not be a safe assumption) that Jackson's decision to pursue a collusion claim (along with Kyler Murray and Russell Wilson) won't be held against him, Jackson would become the rarest of free agents — a winner of multiple league MVP awards who becomes a true free agent while still in his prime. That's his leverage — along with preventing the Ravens from better managing the cap charges through a new deal. And it's significant. Of course, that doesn't mean not having an agent has been the right decision. Josh Allen, who like Jackson was drafted in 2018, got his second contract two years before Jackson, and earned millions more while Jackson waited. Last year, Allen got his third contract. Still, Allen never became a free agent. Jackson is two seasons away from hitting the open market. If he's content to keep waiting, he can become one of the highest-profile free agents since free agency first arrived in 1993.