While the Baltimore Ravens and starting quarterback Lamar Jackson are both believed to be committed to a long-term contract extension, the two sides remain “far apart” on a potential deal, according to Ben Volin of The Boston Globe.

Though any resolution to the negotiations will likely leave Jackson among the highest-paid quarterbacks in the NFL over the long term, if not vault him to the top of the list outright, the Ravens are hesitant to raise the QB's salary over the next two seasons.

Drafted with the final pick in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft, Jackson will make a base salary of $1.77 million in 2021–as well as 2022, should the team exercise their fifth-year option–giving Baltimore a significant degree of financial flexibility that they will have to be convinced to give up. Presumably, Jackson and his camp are not only asking for a substantial salary at the back-end of the deal but for the contract to include a raise over the next two seasons.

However, given that the Ravens hold a contract option and the franchise tag that they can choose to apply towards Jackson, it is not clear if Baltimore will decide to compromise, opening the possibility that the negotiations will drag on through next season.

While the quarterback failed to duplicate the numbers from his MVP campaign in 2019, Jackson still put together a productive campaign in 2020. Not only did the QB compile a record of 11-4, but he threw 26 touchdown passes against only nine interceptions, in addition to securing his first playoff victory.

For a franchise that spent the better part of two decades dealing with subpar quarterbacks, it's hard to argue that Lamar Jackson doesn't deserve a raise.