Zay Flowers has agreed a four-year, $140m contract extension with the Baltimore Ravens, completing his rise from the first opening round wide receiver selected in franchise history to one of the NFL’s best-paid players at the position.

The agreement, which reportedly includes $108m guaranteed, adds four seasons to a contract that already covered the 2026 and 2027 campaigns. Flowers is therefore tied to Baltimore through 2031, when he will be 31. His $35m average annual salary matches Minnesota Vikings star Justin Jefferson and trails only Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Ja’Marr Chase and Drake London among current receiver contracts. Flowers is the latest beneficiary of a rapidly expanding market that has also produced significant extensions for Chris Olave, Christian Watson and London this offseason.

Baltimore’s willingness to enter that market reflects both Flowers’ production and his place within the organisation. The 25-year-old has led the Ravens in receptions and receiving yards during each of his first three seasons, earning consecutive Pro Bowl selections. He established career highs with 86 catches, 1,211 yards and five touchdowns in 2025, setting a Ravens single-season receiving record in the process. His yardage has increased in every season since Baltimore selected him 22nd overall in 2023.

“Zay is the type of player we always seek to retain,” general manager Eric DeCosta said. “Tough, competitive, durable, a premier talent and a foundational football player. He’s earned this extension and we are thrilled for Zay and his family.”

Flowers had made clear before the agreement that he wanted to remain with the franchise, telling reporters last month that he would ‘love to finish my career here’. Baltimore had already exercised his fifth-year option but, as it did with safety Kyle Hamilton last summer, chose to establish longer-term certainty rather than allow negotiations to reach the final year of his rookie deal. The extension also preserves Flowers’ partnership with Lamar Jackson. Both are South Florida natives and regularly train together away from the Ravens’ facility, while Flowers’ movement and ability to create separation have made him Jackson’s most consistent wide receiver. Jackson recently described Flowers’ value as ‘out of this world’, while cornerback Nate Wiggins highlighted the difficulty of defending his speed, quickness and change of direction during practice.

“He’s not a little receiver — he plays big,” Wiggins said. “He’s got all the traits. We are glad to have him on the team.”

Flowers will now enter his first season in offensive coordinator Declan Doyle’s system without any uncertainty surrounding his future. The receiver has praised Doyle’s route concepts and teaching methods during the offseason, predicting that Baltimore possesses the ingredients to produce the NFL’s leading offense.