Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence agrees to a 5-year extension worth up to $275 million

The Jacksonville Jaguars are paying money to keep Trevor Lawrence around.

The team announced it has reached a five-year deal with its franchise quarterback on Friday. according to Ian Rapoport from NFL NetworkThe deal has $200 million guaranteed and $142 million fully guaranteed. He is now set to earn about $55 million per season.

The average annual value of $55 million ties Cincinnati Bengals star Joe Burrow for the highest among NFL quarterbacks, thus matching the highest mark in NFL history. The only other members of the $50 million-a-year club: Jared Goff, Justin Herbert, Lamar Jackson and Jalen Hurts.

Lawrence’s deal is surpassed in terms of total guaranteed and fully guaranteed money only by Burrow and Deshaun Watson.

Lawrence’s contract negotiations loomed large during the Jaguars’ offseason, as the former No. 1 draft pick was eligible for an extension after three seasons of up-and-down quarterback play. He has shown flashes of the generational quarterback prospect he promised when he came out of Clemson. Other times he seemed humble.

Lawrence posted his second career 4,000-yard season last year, but struggled with interceptions and had a career-high 35 sacks. The Jaguars went 9-8 and missed the playoffs.

The Jaguars haven’t been a beacon of stability since Lawrence’s hiring, thanks mostly to the disastrous hiring of head coach Urban Meyer, but they ultimately had no better choice than to pay him. Lawrence’s contract numbers are the norm for quarterbacks these days.

Jacksonville will now try to build a contender with Lawrence occupying a large portion of the salary cap list. So far, their pickups have included weapons for Lawrence with wide receivers Gabe Davis and Devin DuVernay, as well as protection in the form of center Mitch Morse and guard Ezra Cleveland. However, they lost 2023 leading receiver Calvin Ridley to their AFC South rival Tennessee Titans in free agency.

Trevor Lawrence is the only 2021 NFL Draft QB getting a big payday

Lawrence was the crown jewel of a high-profile quarterback class in the 2021 NFL Draft. Everything that’s happened since has probably made the Jaguars feel good that they had a bad enough 2020 to get the top pick.

The pick after Lawrence: Zach Wilson, who never made a move forward with the New York Jets and ended up being traded to the Denver Broncos. Next pick: Trey Lance, who barely saw the field for the San Francisco 49ers and is now with the Dallas Cowboys.

The other two players taken in the first round that year were No. 11 pick Justin Fields to the Chicago Bears and No. 15 pick Mac Jones to the New England Patriots. Fields is headed toward becoming Russell Wilson’s backup with the Pittsburgh Steelers, while Jones has landed with Jacksonville, where he is set to backup Lawrence.

It’s only been three years since that draft, but Lawrence is already guaranteed to be the only member of his class to earn a second contract from his original team. Paying Lawrence may not be in the Jaguars’ favor, but he probably beats the alternative.