Feb 8, 2024; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Lamar Jackson during the NFL Hall of Fame Class of 2024 press conference at Resorts World Theatre. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
NFL: Super Bowl LVIII-Hall of Fame Class of 2024 Press Conference
BALTIMORE — Despite the season ending on a sour note, Lamar Jackson heads into the off-season all smiles.
The Baltimore Ravens quarterback made history at Thursday evening’s NFL Honors ceremony by winning The Associated Press’ NFL MVP award for a second time. At 27, Jackson is the youngest two-time MVP since the merger, earning 49-of-50 first-place votes. The other first-place vote went to Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen
“I want to thank my organization, the Baltimore Ravens, for finally getting the deal done,” said Jackson. “My offense [and] offensive line, I can’t thank them enough for what they’ve done. I’m not out there blocking and catching the ball and doing everything. It’s a team thing for these awards.”
In a year that saw the Jackson demand a trade in the offseason, things ended up going pretty well for him. After he came to terms on a record-shattering, $260 million contract extension, Jackson and the Ravens finished with a 13-4 regular season. And while they came up just short in the postseason, Jackson still managed to throw for 3678-24-7 in his first season under Todd Monken, setting career-highs in both passing yards and completion percentage (67.2 percent). He added another 821 yards and five scores on the ground, all while guiding his team to the #1 seed in the AFC.
“It is an honor just to be among the greatest of all time,” Jackson added. “To do stuff like this is incredible. I never thought I’d be two-time MVP. If anything, I thought I would be a Super Bowl-winning quarterback by now.
“I still have stuff to prove to the naysayers. But I need the naysayers to keep going [and] keep adding fuel to that fire for me to keep being Lamar Jackson.”
Jackson joins Tom Brady, Jim Brown, Brett Favre, Patrick Mahomes, Peyton Manning, Joe Montana, Aaron Rodgers, Johnny Unitas, Kurt Warner and Steve Young as the only players in NFL history two win multiple MVP’s.
Next stop for the 27-year-old? A Super Bowl champion.
