A Jalen Hurts contract extension could set Ravens and Lamar Jackson’s negotiations backward

Rumors of Jalen Hurts and the Eagles coming to a new deal by next week could further set back the longstanding negotiations with the Ravens

On Saturday, The Boston Globe’s Ben Volin gave suggestion that the Philadelphia Eagles and quarterback Jalen Hurts are rather far in contract extension talks.

“Hurts and the Eagles declined to talk about a contract extension following the Super Bowl loss, but don’t be surprised if he has a new deal before the Combine starts in a week and a half,” Volin wrote. “Prior to the Super Bowl, the Eagles had already approached veterans about redoing deals to make space for Hurts.”

With the NFL Scouting Combine beginning on Tuesday, February 28, there’s eight days remaining before this passage of time.

Bleeding Green Nation’s Brandon Lee Gowton notes how Hurts isn’t going to come cheap.

“Coming off an MVP caliber season, which was nearly capped off with Super Bowl MVP honors, Hurts will undoubtedly command top dollar at his position. The 24-year-old has shown makings of an elite quarterback. There’s reason to believe he hasn’t even hit his ceiling yet considering how he gets better every year,” Gowton wrote. “The idea that Hurts will take significantly less money to help the team win probably isn’t realistic. There’s really no precedent for that happening. Players rightfully want to maximize their earnings. Not to mention that there’s pressure from agents (who receive no more than 3% of the deal) and the NFLPA to keep boosting the market as opposed to suppressing it.”

All this is to say the Ravens will be further impacted by the latest quarterback contract that will impact their contract negotiations with Lamar Jackson, an ongoing negotiation spanning two seasons.

It’s a fools errand to imagine Hurts, or Jackson, asking for or getting less money than either Denver Broncos’ Russell Wilson or Arizona Cardinals’ Kyler Murray, who earned $230+ million deals with $124 million and $103 million guaranteed, respectively.

If Hurts is the next domino to fall, he could very likely clip the $50 million average annual value set by Green Bay Packers’ Aaron Rodgers, further setting precedent.

The deals aren’t getting cheaper. The money isn’t getting slimmer. It’s become a race to the contract table for teams to sign their quarterbacks before others, as to save coin, but Jackson has bided his time. Though his performances this season were up-and-down, the going rate for quarterbacks grows steeper. The demand for quarterbacks is just too great and it could be benchmarked yet again if Hurts and the Eagles come to an agreement in a weeks time.