JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – One of the richest contracts in NFL history doesn’t change too much for Trevor Lawrence.
His mission remains unchanged, and that’s bring the Jaguars a Super Bowl title. Lawrence mentioned winning a championship three times on Thursday morning where he made his massive contract extension official.
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Lawrence’s deal, a five-year, $275 million deal that includes $142 million in guarantees, is the largest in franchise history by a sizable margin. His $55 million annual average is tied with Bengals star Joe Burrow’s deal for the highest in NFL history.
“The team goes as you go and I know that and that’s a big responsibility. So, I’m not going to add any pressure to myself, just based on getting this contract,” Lawrence said. “It doesn’t really change what I expect of myself and what the team expects of me. Whether this got done or not, Mr. Khan (Shad Khan), Trent (General Manager Trent Baalke), Doug, (Head Coach Doug Pederson), everyone, all the coaches expect me to play well and to bring a championship here eventually.
“I know that’s the end goal and that’s what I’m here for. So, now that this is done, it doesn’t really change that, but like I said, maybe from the outside it does, a little bit, but not for me.”
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Lawrence’s life-changing deal ties him to Jacksonville through 2030. It’s a five-year pact but it technically doesn’t start until 2026. Lawrence is entering the fourth year of his rookie contract, and the team has already picked up his fifth-year option in 2025.
“To be able to say we’re going to be here and have confidence and know that, that means a lot to us,” Lawrence said. “And we love it here, it’s become home. Our families love it, families love visiting here. And we’ve really settled in. This is home for us.”
Lawrence said that he and wife, Marissa, who accompanied him Thursday to the signing and press conference, have fallen in love with the city. Lawrence was the No. 1 overall pick in 2021 and said shortly after he was drafted that he and Marissa wanted to be in Jacksonville.
Now, Lawrence has the financial security of a long-term deal and expectations of a Super Bowl in that span. The structure of his contract doesn’t handcuff the Jaguars financially.
“I mean, it doesn’t really change too much,” he said. “But it does feel good to have it done. That was a goal that the team and myself and my team wanted to get done is to have it … finished by the time training camp came around, so we could just put everything towards this year and in getting ready to go bring a championship here.”
Lawrence’s contract is notable for several reasons.
First, the size of the deal is a headline grabber. It is the largest contract handed out in franchise history, and by a wide margin. It eclipses previous No. 1 Josh Allen’s five-year, $141.25 million deal ($88 million guaranteed). Allen’s deal averages $28.25 million annually. Lawrence’s comes in at $55 million annually. Quarterback Nick Foles, who signed a four-year, $88 million deal in 2019, held the previous record for a Jaguars quarterback.
Jacksonville wasn’t silent in its desire to extend Lawrence at the first opportunity it had, and that came this year. Both Baalke and head coach Pederson endorsed Lawrence as the franchise quarterback, something Jacksonville hasn’t had since Mark Brunell and later, David Garrard. Lawrence said that the big deal doesn’t change anything in his mind, but knows that the big number could shift what others expect from him.
“Playing quarterback in this league is pressure anyways. So, I guess on the outside there’s going to be a bigger expectation with the long-term deal and being the franchise quarterback, having the contract to say that it might change how other people look at it,” he said. “For me I think I’ve kind of carried that responsibility anyways, being a starting quarterback in this league is a big responsibility.”
The Jaguars went 4-13 in Lawrence’s rookie season, a disaster all around during the brief tenure of Urban Meyer. Under Pederson in 2022, Lawrence figured things out and was one of the best quarterbacks in the league in the second half of that year. That included a torrid finish to win the AFC South title and one of the biggest comebacks in playoff history in a 31-30 win over the Chargers.
Under major expectations, including some that pegged Jacksonville as a fringe Super Bowl contender, Lawrence and the Jaguars imploded. Jacksonville started 8-3 and was actually the No. 1 seed in the AFC. It collapsed in spectacular fashion, a 1-5 finish that resulted in missing the playoffs. Even during that 8-3 start, Lawrence never looked comfortable. He was sacked a career-high 35 times in 16 games and committed a league-high 21 turnovers last year. Lawrence struggled with ankle, knee, shoulder and concussion issues.