Extension is not the only way to efficiency. DeCosta can restructure Jackson’s contract and lower the QB’s cap number to the same $43.5 million he played under in 2025 by adding a void year to his deal, but that would only amount to kicking the can down the road that already includes two void years (including a $12.5 million cap) in 2028 and 2029.
Cap gymnastics is common in the NFL, but it’s not the way Baltimore chooses to go. They want to secure Jackson’s services even beyond his current contract, which expires after the 2027 season.
“You can play with this money all you want. That’s not what we want,” said Bisciotti.
To their credit, the Ravens have taken care of this issue. In August, DeCosta said negotiations with Jackson were “ongoing,” and Jackson made it clear he wanted to stay in Baltimore long-term.
“Absolutely, man. Absolutely. Absolutely. Absolutely. I don’t even know where it’s coming from,” Jackson said in late December. “We have to focus on winning now. So negotiations can be after the season or whatever, but during the season I’m locked in.”
Now it’s about hammering out the details — a process that took an incredibly long time before Jackson signed his first big extension in 2023 — and making room for DeCosta to pursue “a couple of big-ticket items.”