Key facts
- Zay Flowers signed a four-year, $140 million extension with the Ravens on Tuesday, averaging $35 million per year in new money.
- Lamar Jackson has two years left on his current deal and a cap number projected above $84 million next season, with no extension agreed.
- Flowers’ $35 million per year average matches Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson’s per-year figure.
- Rams receiver Puka Nacua is making $5.767 million in the final year of his rookie deal with no long-term extension yet.
- Cowboys receiver George Pickens is projected at $27.298 million under a 2026 franchise tag, with a second tag in 2027 costing $32.75 million.
- Bengals receiver Ja’Marr Chase is currently the league’s highest-paid receiver at $40 million per year.
The Baltimore Ravens agreed to a four-year contract extension with wide receiver Zay Flowers on Tuesday worth $140 million, a deal that carries a new-money average of $35 million per year. The signing came as quarterback Lamar Jackson remains without a new deal of his own, despite having just two years left on his current contract and a cap number set to exceed $84 million next season.
Flowers on wanting Jackson long-term
At a Wednesday press conference, Flowers did not discuss numbers or the status of any Jackson negotiations, but said he hopes Jackson remains Baltimore’s quarterback for the rest of his own playing career. According to comments relayed via the team’s website and reported by NBC Sports and Yahoo Sports, Flowers said he wants Jackson as his quarterback whether that means 12 more years or 13, calling him the best in the world. Jackson himself declined to address contract matters at the start of training camp, and it is unclear how close, if at all, the two sides are to an extension.
What the deal means for the receiver market
Flowers’ $35 million-per-year average now matches Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson’s per-year figure, a comparison Yahoo Sports and NBC Sports both flagged given Jefferson’s larger track record. The deal is expected to have ripple effects across the league. Rams receiver Puka Nacua, playing out the final year of his rookie deal at $5.767 million, is cited as someone whose situation becomes more glaring with each new top-market receiver contract, though the reporting notes Nacua has other complicating factors in his own extension talks. Cowboys receiver George Pickens is also mentioned as a market mover: he is projected at $27.298 million under the franchise tag for 2026, and a second tag in 2027 would cost Dallas $32.75 million, still below the top of the receiver market — a number the reporting suggests Cowboys owner Jerry Jones could be inclined to use again rather than sign Pickens long-term.
The reporting also points to Bengals receiver Ja’Marr Chase, currently at $40 million per year, as a player who may eventually question his own market position as more receivers who are not at his production level move closer to or past his per-year average. The Flowers deal is described as one of several recent moves, alongside a new contract for Rams/Falcons-linked receiver Drake London, expected to push other receivers toward seeking similar extensions given rising salary cap space around the league.
What is next
No timeline was given for when or whether Jackson and the Ravens might reach an extension. Jackson has not addressed the matter publicly since declining to discuss it at the start of training camp.
Sources
Featured photo: Maryland GovPics via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)