Tyler Huntley Contract: What the Baltimore Ravens Backup Quarterback Makes in 2022
After a Week 13 injury, Baltimore Ravens superstar quarterback Lamar Jackson is now out for a matter of “days to weeks,” according to coach John Harbaugh. That means Ravens backup Tyler Huntley is up for another cameo. The backup, who joined the Ravens in 2020, has looked good at times in relief of Jackson but hasn’t yet truly broken out. Ahead of his next opportunity, let’s look at the current Tyler Huntley contract situation and discuss the implications in light of the Lamar Jackson contract saga.
What the Tyler Huntley contract looks like as the Baltimore Ravens backup QB
As a three-year starter for the Utah Utes, Tyler Huntley passed for 7,351 yards with a 67.2% completion rate and 46 touchdowns to 20 interceptions. He also ran for 1,146 yards and scored 16 rushing touchdowns. Despite the solid numbers, no team picked Huntley in the 2020 NFL Draft, and he signed with the Ravens as an undrafted free agent.
In his rookie season, he only threw five passes in two games of spot duty. In year two, though, Huntley started four games with Lamar Jackson out with injuries. He went 1-3 but also led the Ravens to victory in the first game he came into for Jackson.
Throughout his first two seasons, Huntley was on a practice squad contract and a reserve/futures contract, meaning he was at or near the league minimum. In 2020, he made a total of $326,236. In 2021, he made 780,000.
During the 2022 offseason, Huntley re-upped with Baltimore on a one-year, $850,000 contract. That is above the NFL minimum salary for players with one year of service time ($825K) but less than the two-year minimum ($895K) because he wasn’t on the Ravens 53-man roster for an entire season as a rookie.
After the season, Huntley will be a restricted free agent. Because he has less than three accrued seasons, the Ravens will be able to offer Huntley “one of various qualifying offers (“tenders”) that come with the right of first refusal and/or draft-pick compensation,” per NFL.com.
Since Huntley was undrafted, the Ravens would offer a Right of First Refusal tender (as opposed to a First Round, Second Round, or Original Round tender) and would retain the rights to match any team’s offer for the QB. If no offers come, the Tyler Huntley contract would be for that tender number, which will fluctuate based on the 2023 salary cap, but this season it was $2.433 million.
The Lamar Jackson contract saga
Knowing the Tyler Huntley contract details is crucial to Baltimore Ravens fans because of the uncertainty surrounding the Lamar Jackson contract situation.
The Ravens drafted Jackson with the last pick of the first round in 2018. He was the fifth quarterback after Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold, Josh Allen, and Josh Rosen. Since then, Jackson has become one of the best young signal-callers in the league, winning two Pro Bowl nominations and the 2019 NFL MVP Award.
As such, the current Lamar Jackson contract is $23,016,000, the highest possible fifth-year option number for his draft slot.
However, Allen has already re-upped with the Buffalo Bills for six years, $258 million, and Kyler Murray, drafted in the first round a year after Jackson, just signed a five-year, $230.5 million extension.
Jackson has yet to sign a long-term deal, and after failing to reach an agreement with the team this offseason, both parties consented to put it off until after this season.
Both the quarterback — who represents himself with the help of his mother — and the team have been optimistic that they’ll ultimately get the deal done. And, the Ravens do have the option of using the exclusive franchise tag on Jackson next season, which would be somewhere around $45-$46 million for 2023.
That means the Ravens aren’t in a dire situation with the Lamar Jackson contract situation yet. However, if their backup plays well while Jackson is out, the team will have extra motivation to make sure the Tyler Huntley contract situation is taken care of for the next few years this offseason.
