The NFL Draft spurred the Aaron Rodgers trade and it might have done the same for a Lamar Jackson extension.
Nearly two years into negotiations and about two months after he made a trade request, Jackson and the Ravens agreed to terms Thursday on a five-year contract, the team announced.
Financial terms of the deal were not immediately known.
“You know, for the last few months, there’s been a lot of he-say, she-say, lot of nail-biting, lot of head-scratching going on,” Jackson said in a video accompanying the Ravens announcement on Twitter.
“But for the next five years, it’s a lot of flock going on. Let’s go, baby, let’s go! Can’t wait to be there, can’t wait to light up M&T [Stadium] for the next five years. Let’s get it.”
Perhaps the timing lining up with the first round of the NFL Draft is a coincidence, or perhaps both sides viewed it as a deadline, with the Ravens needing to plan for the future if Jackson wasn’t going to play on the franchise tag or stay beyond 2023.