Ravens make Roquan Smith highest-paid LB with 5-year, $100M extension

The Baltimore Ravens have agreed in principle to a five-year, $100-million contract extension with Roquan Smith, making him the highest-paid off-ball linebacker in NFL history, Saint Omni - a non-NFLPA-certified agent who represents Smith - told NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.

Smith, who represented himself in the negotiations, will make $60 million in total guarantees as part of the new deal, according to Rapoport. Non-NFLPA-certified agents are prohibited from negotiating player contracts.

The 25-year-old was in the fifth year of his rookie contract and joined the Ravens in an October trade from the Chicago Bears in exchange for linebacker A.J. Klein, a 2023 second-round pick, and a 2023 fifth-rounder.

Smith made an immediate impact on the Ravens' defense since joining and earned the first Pro Bowl nod of his career in 2022. The Georgia product - who was a second-team All-Pro in 2020 and 2021 - finished the season with 169 tackles, 4.5 sacks, and three interceptions across eight starts with Chicago and nine with Baltimore.

The Ravens allowed only 14.7 points per game in those nine contests, the second-best mark in the NFL in that span. Baltimore's solid defensive play was crucial in its final five games as the team clinched the AFC's No. 6 seed despite not having quarterback Lamar Jackson, who's sidelined due to a knee injury.

Smith has averaged 151 tackles, four sacks, and two interceptions per 17 games played since entering the NFL as the eighth overall pick in 2018.

Smith was a franchise-tag candidate for the Ravens along with Jackson, who's in the last year of his rookie contract. Baltimore negotiated an extension with the superstar quarterback in the offseason, but the two sides were unable to come to an agreement. Jackson is reportedly believed to have rejected a contract extension worth up to $250 million before the regular season. Baltimore apparently offered him a six-year extension that included $133 million fully guaranteed.