Ravens' Bisciotti on Lamar Jackson Contract Talks: 'We'll Pay Him When He's Ready'

Baltimore Ravens majority owner Steve Bisciotti told reporters Tuesday that the team wanted to sign star quarterback Lamar Jackson to an extension and would "pay him when he's ready."

"Without a quarterback you believe in, life (stinks) as an NFL owner and as a fan base. ... We appreciate (Lamar)," Bisciotti added. "All I know is that his teammates love him and the front office loves him."

Jackson will play the upcoming season on a $23.1 million fifth-year team option and will become a free agent ahead of the 2023 campaign. The Ravens would have the option to use the franchise tag on him if a long-term extension isn't worked out by next offseason, however, and assuredly would. 

This would generally be a natural offseason for the two sides to come to terms on an extension. But ESPN's Jamison Hensley reported earlier in October that "Jackson, who is representing himself, has shown no interest in negotiating right now."

The question is why?

Perhaps Jackson was simply waiting to see how the quarterback market settled itself this offseason. The price tag for elite quarterbacks definitely went up: Aaron Rodgers signed a four-year, $200 million extension with the Green Bay Packers ($153 million guaranteed), and the Cleveland Browns signed Deshaun Watson to a fully-guaranteed, five-year, $230 million deal after trading for him. 

Russell Wilson will almost assuredly receive an extremely lucrative contract extension with the Denver Broncos after he was traded to the team as well. 

Jackson, meanwhile, is coming off a tough 2021 season that saw him miss five games due to injury and saw the Ravens miss the playoffs. He threw for 2,882 yards, 16 touchdowns and a career-worst 13 interceptions when he did play, completing 64.4 percent of his passes. 

He also rushed for 767 yards and two scores. 

So it's possible that the former MVP doesn't want to negotiate off of arguably his worst season as a pro. The other possibility, however, is that Jackson is simply so focused on improving this offseason and getting the Ravens back into Super Bowl contention that he doesn't want to give his attention to anything else.  

"He's not going to worry about it," head coach John Harbaugh told reporters on Monday regarding the lack of extension talks. "If it matters to him, then obviously, it would be a priority at this point in time. I'm sure we would be getting something done. He's got his reasons, thinking the way that he does. Basically, what he shares with me is: 'I got to focus on being the best quarterback I can be. I got to go to work.' Beyond that, I think when the time is right, it'll happen."