How the Ravens Re-Signing Their All-Pro Safety Impacts Their Future

NFL

The Baltimore Ravens have agreed to terms on an extension with their elite safety. Kyle Hamilton inked a four-year, $100.4 million deal Wednesday afternoon. About four months ago, the Ravens picked up Hamilton’s fifth-year option, keeping him under his rookie contract for another season until this news dropped. Yet again, another player is hopping on the ‘guaranteed money’ train, securing $82 million in guarantees, which has been the trend of many recent contract signings.

All-American Tenure in College

During his collegiate career, he excelled at Notre Dame in the secondary. After playing 13 games as a freshman and recording four interceptions and 41 tackles, he was named a Freshman All-American by the Football Writers Association of America. He only went on to improve year-by-year after that by getting voted as a Second-Team All-American by FWAA and then as a consensus All-American after his junior year. His great play for the Fighting Irish led to him getting selected 14th overall in the 2022 NFL Draft by the Ravens.

Hamilton Solidified Himself as an Elite Safety

The NFL turned out to be not much of a learning curve for Hamilton. Learning under Chuck Clark paid dividends in his first pro season as he was named to PFWA’s All-Rookie Team. Hamilton’s chance to prove himself came in his second season, as Clark tore his ACL in June 2023. The then-22-year-old didn’t disappoint, establishing himself as one of the top safeties in the league, earning a First-Team All-Pro selection in the process. He followed up an eye-opening 2023 campaign with an impressive 2024 season, racking up an interception, nine passes defended, 107 tackles, and two sacks. The two-time Pro Bowler now looks to add another accolade to his résumé with potentially his first Super Bowl in February 2026.

How Does This Impact Baltimore’s Future?

The Ravens are always a contender in the AFC as long as Lamar Jackson is playing. Signing players to long-term contracts will certainly keep their franchise QB happy, but it does come with some caveats. Hamilton is now the highest-paid safety in football, averaging $25.1 million per season, leaving less money to hand out to other players on the roster. For example, Jackson’s cap hit is set at $43.5 million this year, but jumps up to $74.5 million during the next two seasons, which leaves a lot less wiggle room, salary cap-wise, than the Ravens’ brass prefers. Also, the top-three tight ends in Baltimore—Mark Andrews, Isaiah Likely, and Charlie Kolar—all have expiring contracts after this season, meaning that the team could choose to part ways with the soon-to-be 30-year-old Andrews and go with the younger Likely or go in a completely different direction at the position. The last piece of the puzzle sits with Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta and Tyler Linderbaum. In April, the team declined to pick up the fifth-year option on Linderbaum, the fellow 2022 first-round pick who also notched two trips to the Pro Bowl, but DeCosta has said that it is the team’s “intention for Linderbaum to remain a Raven long-term.”

Justin Bott

Justin Bott is a Buffalo, NY native who grew up an avid fan of the Bills and Sabres. Justin’s love for sports grew into a love for sports writing. Since enrolling at St. Bonaventure University, he’s written articles for The Hockey Writers as well as for The Bona Venture student newspaper.

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