Time has flown. Just like that, we enter year eight of the Lamar Jackson experience. We have had a lot of fun. Four Pro Bowl nods have been the result of his first seven seasons with the Baltimore Ravens.

He has been named a First-Team All-Pro three times, and he has twice been honored as the NFL’s MVP. No disrespect is intended to Josh Allen, but from where we’re seated, he should have pulled off the hat trick after a phenomenal 2024-25 season.

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He enjoyed his best season as a passer, throwing for 4,172 yards and tossing 41 touchdowns. He led the league in QB rating (119.6) and QBR (77.3).

Three years remain on his five-year, $260 million deal. That would make him a free agent in 2028, but as the Worldwide Leader in Sports suggests, the Ravens may want to think about getting a deal done early.

ESPN shines a spotlight on the Lamar Jackson contract discussion

With NFL quarterbacks seemingly signing new contracts every 15 minutes, the market shifts quickly. When Lamar signed his extension on April 27, 2023, he was the game’s highest-paid player at the position. That lasted ten days. Currently, his deal no longer reflects where he stands among the game’s top signal-callers.

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Contract extensions are about more than a player’s ego, though. If handled properly, they help the organization. Such is the case with Jackson’s arrangement. As ESPN’s Aaron Schatz suggests, completing tasks sooner rather than later frees up money and improves salary cap health.

“My original suggestion for the Ravens was that they sign cornerback Jaire Alexander. But they went ahead and did that on a one-year deal, so let’s strike up a deal with Jackson, Alexander’s old Louisville teammate.”

Those were Schatz’s words in his recent write-up, proposing one final offseason move for all 32 NFL teams. Baltimore’s need to get Lamar’s deal done isn’t a surprise to Ravens fans, but credit the writer of this one for some pinpoint accuracy.

“Extension talks with Jackson are in an “introductory stage,” according to general manager Eric DeCosta. Jackson is signed through 2027, but the two-time MVP is now 10th among quarterbacks in average annual salary. An extension would make him happy and open up a ton of salary cap space for the Ravens to use in 2026 and 2027. (Jackson is set to have a cap number of over $74 million next season).”

Schatz is on the right track, and seeing as how Eric DeCosta and the Ravens are already in the beginning stages of negotiations, they are too. Keep those fingers crossed. Many of Baltimore’s young stars are nearing the end of their current deals. There’s also another positive. Keeping Lamar happy goes a long way in improving the chances of another MVP-caliber season.

This article originally appeared on Ravens Wire: Ravens fans hear a familiar truth from national voice on Lamar Jackson