Ravens GM Eric DeCosta Reveals Catalyst for Lamar Jackson Extension

After speculation of how Deshaun Watson and Jalen Hurts' deal would impact Lamar Jackson, Eric DeCosta revealed the offer that was most impactful.

When it comes to quarterback contracts in the NFL there will always be a deal that bests the previous biggest deal. Last offseason we saw Deshaun Watson sign a record-breaking deal with the Cleveland Browns followed by Jalen Hurts signing his with the Philadelphia Eagles this offseason. 

Those two contracts at one point in time appeared to be roadblocks between Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens agreeing to a new deal, but that didn't last long. Rather, they agreed to an extension that will earn Jackson $52 million a year, $1 million more than Hurts' $51 million.

While the situation appeared dicey for a bit, Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta was asked on the PFT PM Podcast about how Jackson's and Hurts' deals impacted Jackson's. 

“Oh, man. That’s a good question,” DeCosta said.“I mean, I think they were both kind of hovering overhead different ways."

"I mean, obviously, the Watson deal was really something that the media focused on quite a bit and was fascinated by any impact that would have on the negotiation with Lamar. And then I think that the Hurts deal, you know, it hit before we got the Lamar deal done.”

Instead the deals for Watson and Hurts having a heavy impact on negotiations, though, DeCosta revealed that an offer from the Ravens to Jackson last September is similar to what they finally agreed on. 

“I would say that, you know the contract that we did with Lamar is not that dissimilar from the contract that we offered Lamar in September,” DeCosta said. I think that contract actually had the biggest impact of the whole thing, because we felt that the time that that was a strong contract offer."

"We had a small window to get that done. Lamar had put a self-imposed end of negotiation date before the season started. We felt like we were getting close to a deal at that point, but we ran out of time and so we decided to kind of revisit that contract."

Ultimately the Ravens and Jackson agreed to a five-year, $260 million contract with $185 million guaranteed and the aforementioned $52 million annually - a deal which keeps the former MVP winner in Baltimore for the foreseeable future. 

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You can find Connor Zimmerlee on Twitter @Connorjz98

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