Sources: Jackson won't have deal with Ravens before start of season

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There will be no last-minute, buzzer-beating, day-of-the-opener lucrative contract extension for Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson -- the way there was for Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott on opening day two years ago.

Jackson has been more focused on Sunday's game against the Indianapolis Colts and the season ahead and has been reluctant to discuss a long-term extension with the Ravens, for whatever reason, league sources told ESPN.

Jackson and the Ravens have yet to engage in any substantive, significant discussions about a long-term contract extension that would give him a chance to finish his career in Baltimore. No deal is expected anytime soon, according to sources, despite the Ravens' willingness to make him the highest-paid quarterback in football.

Jackson continually has demonstrated that once the regular season begins, as it does Sunday in Indianapolis for the Ravens, he prefers not to discuss his contract at all.

It is not thought to be a negotiating tactic; Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti already has publicly said that he wants the two-time MVP back and is willing to make Jackson the highest-paid quarterback in NFL history. Many around the league believe that Jackson could become the NFL's first $70 million-per-year player.

Yet the situation has remained stuck in neutral for over a year while Jackson is more focused on returning to the type of form he had during his MVP seasons.

The issue isn't going away and only figures to increase in importance after this season, when Jackson's salary cap hit for 2027 increases to $84.3 million. Baltimore could afford to carry the contract that way, but it would not be ideal for the franchise.

"We've got free agents and I don't want to go into free agency with that hanging overhead," Bisciotti said nearly eight months ago in January. "And I made that clear to Lamar and I think he was very appreciative of my stance and hopefully willing to work with [Ravens general manager] Eric [DeCosta] and not get this thing dragged out into April like the last time. It's very hard for him to build a roster when that thing is not settled."

Jackson, 29, currently is in the fourth year of a five-year, $260 million contract that included $185 million guaranteed and runs through the end of next season.

But it now looks as if Jackson is willing to let the issue drag into next offseason, when the stakes for each side to do a deal would increase.

The Ravens are projected to be roughly $40 million over the salary cap for the 2027 season; relief will have to be found. One of the most logical ways would be an extension for Jackson.

But that is business that will have to wait. The business of the Colts, and the season ahead, comes first. Talks now are tabled, likely until the end of the season.

Jackson said this past Tuesday that "winning it all" is how he would define a successful 2026 season but added that the Ravens players remain focused on Week 1 and don't talk among themselves about winning a Super Bowl.

"We talk about how to get there," Jackson said. "That's all it's been. Each and every year, we never got there. It's about getting there. But it starts Week 1. We can't worry about February until we are actually there."

Jackson is the only active player with multiple MVP awards to not win a Super Bowl. Since entering the NFL in 2018, he has the second-best regular-season record as a starting quarterback at 76-31 (.710) but is just 3-5 in the playoffs.