OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Rashod Bateman has signed a three-year contract extension with the Baltimore Ravens worth $36.75 million, with $20 million guaranteed.
The deal comes after the wide receiver had his best season with the Ravens, bringing in 45 catches for career highs of 756 yards and nine touchdowns in his fourth year with the team.
Watch as Bateman reacts to the extension
"It just made sense for both of us and we worked it out so I'm happy to be here, blessed and fortunate to keep chasing the Super Bowl," Bateman said.
While the team's collective goal is winning a championship, Bateman expressed his desire to pursue that goal specifically as a Raven.
"I feel like I finally did something on the field that was, you know, impressive and something that you can, you know, respect and stand on. Before that I had some ups and downs here and there, so to be able to be here now it feels good," Bateman said.
The 25-year-old receiver emphasized that his focus is on contributing to the team rather than proving himself to outside critics.
"I just know I can play ball and it's like everybody knows that now and I'm not here to prove that to nobody. I wanna prove that to my teammates and I work for the Ravens. I work for Lamar Jackson technically, and if these guys are pleased with what I'm doing and my work ethic and all of that then I feel like as a team that's what's important to me," Bateman said.
Bateman, who previously signed a two-year extension for $12.8 million a season ago, had been vocal about frustrations with general manager Eric DeCosta in the past. However, he now says their relationship is strong and they've been negotiating this latest deal since the end of last season.
"We've had some good transparent dialogue throughout this whole process. They were honest with me. I was honest with them and here we are today. I knew I've always wanted to be here. I just think as a player you don't know when your time's up, you don't know the conversations that I had when you're not around or in the meetings or those type of things so you're always wondering what's gonna happen to you. You've seen some of the best players get traded sometimes, so you just never know," Bateman said.
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