A goal of Trevor Lawrence’s as his representatives negotiated the five-year, $275 million contract he signed with Jacksonville Thursday was to make it as cap-friendly as possible while securing the quarterback’s market value.
He believes the two sides were able to find that middle ground before striking the deal.
“I don’t know how all that works but it felt like my agent, [Jaguars general manager] Trent [Baalke] and the whole front office did a good job of maneuvering all those things where it felt like we all won in the end,” Lawrence said Thursday.
While Lawrence’s contract, by average annual value, ties him with Cincinnati quarterback Joe Burrow as the NFL’s highest-paid player, it’s structured to push large cap hits down the line with hefty bonuses upfront and in the early years of the deal.
Lawrence had two years remaining on his rookie contract that factored into the extension, allowing the Jaguars to spread money over seven years rather than five.
His cap hit ranks outside the 15 highest among quarterbacks between the 2024-26 seasons, currently. In 2027, he’s set to jump to No. 10. He won’t crack the top five until 2029, when only five quarterbacks are slated to be on an active contract (not including void years).
Per Over the Cap, which projects the NFL salary cap through 2027, the Jaguars have $28,644,333 available on their 2024 table, $27,363,979 in 2025, $75,267,417 in 2026 and $170,964,246 in 2027.
“It started as a 15-year [contract]. I’m just kidding,” Lawrence quipped. “I’d be in a walker going out of here.
“No, for us it was always the same range. Full transparency it was four to five years, somewhere in there … I knew we wanted to be here and 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. That was our goal which I feel like 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, all those things. But you also want to keep the team in a good position to where we can pay other guys and have players around me, do all those things from a salary cap perspective.”
With a handful of top contributors eligible for a new contract or soon-to-be, paired with yearly roster attrition creating team needs, Lawrence’s contract offers the Jaguars flexibility to spend in future years while locking in their franchise quarterback for the long haul.
“That was something that was important to me,” said Lawrence. “It wasn’t worth it to me to sacrifice being able to have a good team just so I can make some money.”
