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Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Zay Flowers.

There’s a chance Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Zay Flowers balls out in 2026 and becomes 1 of the NFL’s highest-paid players soon after the season ends.

The key here is that it doesn’t happen until after the season.

According to Spotrac’s Michael Ginnitti, the Ravens would be smart to wait until 2027 before handing the unpredictable Flower his 1st massive payday.

Flowers has 2 years and $30 million remaining on his rookie contract and, according to Ginnitti, is in line for something in the realm of a 3-year, $93 million extension if and when it happens.

“Flowers has posted improved production each of his first three seasons in Baltimore, though none of the numbers necessarily jump off of the page,” Ginnitti wrote. “It stands to reason that Flowers will be a Top 10 paid WR ($30M+) when it’s said and done.
Prediction: Baltimore focuses on Lamar Jackson this summer, pushing the Flowers’ extension to 2027.”

Maturity Issues Persist for Zay Flowers

The current offseason has been a prime example of why the Ravens shouldn’t pay Flowers — something that could probably be fixed if he just never went on a podcast again.

First, Flowers blamed injuries for the Ravens in recent seasons on former head coach John Harbaugh, saying that Harbaugh made practices too hard.

Harbaugh was fired following an 8-9 season in 2025 and hired by the New York Giants.

“Full pads all the time,” Flowers said. “However many practices in pads you can get, every single one. We’re doing 1-on-1s Week 17 … Low-key, that’s why we had a lot of injuries. Because of how we practiced.”

Then, Flowers addressed his defining moment in the NFL to this point — a disastrous performance in the AFC Championship Game against the Kansas City Chiefs.

What Really Happened in AFC Championship Game

Trailing 17-7 at the start of the 4th quarter in Baltimore, Flowers received a taunting penalty on Chiefs cornerback La’Jarius Sneed on a deep catch that brought the Ravens to Kansas City’s 10-yard line. His 15-yard penalty pushed them back to the 25-yard line.

Four plays later, Sneed stripped Flowers of the ball as he dove into the end zone to give the Chiefs the ball back, and Kansas City eventually won the game, 17-10, and went on to win their 2nd consecutive Super Bowl.

“I had 130 (receiving yards),” Flowers said. “You feel me? We had 4 more possessions after that. We got into the red zone 2 of them possessions. You could say I (lost the game) but it just looks like that because we got to the red zone on the last possession and kicked a field goal. At 1st I was like, ‘Damn, that’s not on you cuz’ … but if you’re a winner you’re gonna say it’s on you … and you know the internet gonna blow it up like ‘Oh, if you woulda scored,’ but bro I’m like you know we had 4 or 5 more possessions after (the fumble) and that was the 1st play of the 4th quarter.”

Flowers did not have 130 receiving yards. He had 5 receptions for 115 yards and 1 touchdown, and the Ravens only had 2 more possessions after his fumble.

After Flowers fumbled, he slammed his hand into the bench and cut his finger. The injury required stitches, and he didn’t have another reception.