Trevor Lawrence explains his approach to contract extension length
Trevor Lawrence, the newest $55 million quarterback, acknowledged this week that it was important to him that his new contract with the Jaguars helped the team as well.
He and his representatives went into negotiations with the idea of securing a four- to five-year extension. The Jaguars agreed to a five-year deal that starts in 2026. So he’s basically booked into Jacksonville until 2030.
“There’s always a balancing act of however many years you do, sometimes that can put the team in a better position, which is great,” the Jaguars quarterback told reporters at a press conference this week. “That was our goal, which I’m glad I felt we were able to accomplish. Obviously, there was a certain amount as a player you want to make and you want to be in the market value and all those things. But you also want to keep the team in a good position to where we can pay other guys and have other players around me and do all those things from a salary cap perspective.”
New Jaguars deal features $142 million fully guaranteed
Here are the important details. Lawrence signed a five-year extension that pays $275 million. The extension starts in two years. For now, the top pick of the 2021 NFL Draft will make a base salary of $1.055 million. Then in 2025 — the Jaguars already had picked up his fifth-year option of his rookie deal — he’ll make $25.67 million.
Then the big money hits the checking account in 2026. The Jaguars will pay Lawrence a $37.5 million signing bonus, plus his average salary of $55 million. The salary ties Joe Burrow’s for tops in the NFL. Of course, he could drop on the list as soon as another quarterback agrees to a deal. It’s definitely that hot of a quarterback market.
The extension includes $142 million in fully guaranteed pay. Only Cleveland’s Deshaun Watson and Burrow are assured more money from their teams. Watson’s contract features $230 million guaranteed. Meanwhile, the Bengals will pay Burrow $146.5 million in guarantees.
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Overall, Lawrence said “I don’t know how all that works, but I just felt like my agent and Trent and the whole front office did a good job of kind of maneuvering all those things where it felt like we all won in the end. And it put us in a position to where we can still have a lot of talent here and we can bring guys in or we can keep the guys that we have. That was something that was important to me because it wasn’t worth it to me to sacrifice being able to have a good team just so I could make some money.”
He added: “I think this is definitely the best team that we’ve had here in my eyes, just at this point in the year from what I’ve seen. I feel very confident in that.”
Keep eye on deals for Prescott, Love, Tagovailoa
Now that Lawrence and the Jaguars are linked through 2030, other quarterback deals will be announced. The Dolphins currently are negotiating with Tua Tagovailoa. He’s playing on his fifth-year option in Miami. The Packers and Jordan Love also should announce a deal soon. And many believe he’ll make at least as much as Lawrence.
Meanwhile, Dak Prescott is entering into his final year in Dallas if the Cowboys don’t negotiate a new contract/extension. It’s unclear whether such a deal will be worked out before training camp.
Lawrence and the Jaguars veterans report to training camp, July 23.