Last offseason was a turbulent time for the Baltimore Ravens with Lamar Jackson’s contract situation taking all of the headlines. With the constant back and forth and even a trade request from Lamar, things didn’t look good for his future in Baltimore.
But after months of negotiations, Jackson and the Ravens struck a five-year, $260 million contract as the franchise finally locked away their quarterback.
However, the negotiations between Lamar and general manager Eric DeCosta were challenging due to Jackson representing himself. Speaking on Next Up with Adam Breneman, DeCosta detailed the challenges he faced in dealing directly with Jackson before it finally all came together.
“With an agent, it’s easy for a general manager to say to an agent your client is not as good as he thinks he is, or I’m not giving you this, I know you want it, but I’m not giving you this,” DeCosta said. “With a player that you care for with the emotional aspect of a friendship and a respect it creates all these different nuance challenges. Because Lamar wasn’t talking to anybody, and I wasn’t talking to anybody, but it was a challenge. In saying that, when we got the deal done it was one of the happiest moments in my professional career.”
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May 4, 2023; Owings Mills, MD, USA; Baltimore Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta reacts to
Brent Skeen-USA TODAY Sports
With Jackson’s future with the organization now finalized, the team went about having a dominant regular season and finished with a 13-4 record (and division title) along with home-field advantage for the playoffs. A home win over the Houston Texans followed, before a 17-10 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship game halted their stellar season.
Lamar would also win his second MVP award in Todd Monken’s first season as offense coordinator in a more pass-oriented scheme. Jackson threw for a career-high 3,678 yards, 24 touchdowns, just seven interceptions, and had his highest passer rating since 2019 (102.7).
So, while there were a lot of highs in the 2023 season, getting Jackson to sign on the dotted line and securing his future with the franchise was perhaps the best thing that happened for Baltimore and DeCosta.
