3 reasons why Lamar Jackson won’t be NFL’s highest paid player for too long
The Baltimore Ravens and Lamar Jackson finally agreed to terms on a new, long-term deal that will keep him in Baltimore for the next five years. It was announced earlier that Jackson had signed a five-year, $260 million deal, making him the highest paid quarterback in the NFL.
Guaranteed money was the big sticking point and Jackson gets $185 million guaranteed with his new deal. For most players, being the highest paid player in their position is a badge of honor.
For some, they have to be the highest paid. For others, it is more about long-term security and with Lamar Jackson, he now has both.
While the push to become the league's highest player might not have been a factor, we imagine that Jackson will not be the highest paid quarterback in the NFL for too long.
Here are three reasons why Lamar Jackson won't be the highest paid quarterback for much longer
#3 - More revenue streams
With the world of professional sports growing by the day, the NFL is considered the biggest sporting league on the planet.
Many media organizations want to be able to be "the place" to watch the NFL, and thus create packages that have a certain number of games on.
Streaming services are becoming a big tool for companies like Amazon to have exclusive rights to Thursday Night games.
What media companies pay for the rights to NFL games can then be trickled down to the teams. This is what makes things like the salary cap balloon, thus allowing more money to be spent and players getting paid more per year.
# 2 - Future increase of the salary cap
The future salary cap will be another reason why Lamar Jackson won't be at the top of the pile for too long.
With the cap going up every year, it currently sits at $224.8 million and Over the Cap predicts that it will increase to $256 million in 2024.
That is over $30 million more. If that averages out over the next few seasons, there will be more money to pay quarterbacks, which means that while Lamar Jackson's contract now looks good, in a year or two, it will be seen as "value for money."
#1 - Justin Herbert and Joe Burrow are due extensions as well
Both Justin Herbert and Joe Burrow are entering the fourth-year of their rookie contracts. This means that both are eligible for an extension. While the Bengals exercised Burrow's fifth-year option, they can still negotiate a new contract.
When a quarterback signs a new deal, it resets the market. When Jalen Hurts signed, that was then going to be the minimum the next quarterback was going to get.
Thus, Jackson received a little bit more than Hurts.
The same will be true for Burrow and Herbert. Both will definitely get more money than Jackson, it just remains to be seen when the duo will put pen to paper on new contracts.
Both are set to make $29.5 million on their fifth-year options should no long-term contracts be agreed. While Lamar Jackson is the highest paid quarterback right now, don't expect that to last too long.