How will Deshaun Watson's new deal impact Lamar Jackson?
OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Deshaun Watson became the latest quarterback to land a mega-deal, inking a four-year, $156 million extension with the Houston Texans.
In July, Patrick Mahomes signed a 10-year extension worth up to $503 million with the Kansas City Chiefs. The deal is the most lucrative in North American sports history, surpassing the previous mark set by Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout, who signed a 12-year, $426.5 million contract in 2019.
Those recent contracts have set the market for Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, who is still playing under his rookie deal and averages $2.4 million per season. Jackson is not due to become an unrestricted free agent until 2023.
Mahomes, the 10th overall pick in the 2017 draft, has thrown for 9,412 yards with 76 touchdowns and 18 interceptions over 31 regular-season games. He also has 1,474 yards with 13 touchdowns and two interceptions over five postseason games and was named MVP of this past year's Super Bowl.
Watson was selected by the Texans with the 12th overall pick in the 2017 draft. He has thrown for 9,716 passing yards, 71 touchdowns with 29 interceptions over 38 regular-season games (31 starts). Watson has also run for 1,233 yards with 14 touchdowns over that span.
Jackson, who was selected by the Ravens with the 32nd overall pick in the 2018 draft, is coming off one of the most successful regular seasons by any quarterback in NFL history. He completed 265 of 401 passes for 3,127 yards and an NFL-high 36 touchdowns, which was also a franchise record.
Jackson finished with 1,206 yards rushing — sixth-best in the league and the most by a quarterback in NFL single-season history.
He is the only quarterback in NFL history to produce at least 3,000 passing yards and 1,000 rushing yards in a season. He is also just the third quarterback in league history to produce at least 35 passing touchdowns and seven rushing touchdowns in a season, joining Steve Young (1994) and Cam Newton (2015).
Jackson became just the second player to win the NFL's Most Valuable Player by a unanimous vote, joining Tom Brady in 2010. He is also the youngest quarterback to win the award at age 23.
No doubt that Jackson has put himself in a position for a huge payday like Mahomes and Watson.
