He played college football for the Louisville Cardinals, winning the Heisman Trophy in 2016, and was selected by the Ravens with the final pick in the first round of the 2018 NFL draft.

In 2024, Jackson set career highs in passing, became the all-time leader in quarterback rushing yards, and tied the record for most perfect passer rating games with four.

[7][8][9] Jackson attended public schools and played Pop Warner football in the same Florida league with future teammate Marquise Brown.

Jackson, his brother Jamar and the Northwest Broward Raiders beat the Fort Lauderdale Hurricanes, who had been back-to-back champions with a long winning streak.

[16] A touchdown highlight Jackson scored against Village Academy went viral online,[17] with The Palm Beach Post's Ryan DiPentima detailing: Without any passing options down field, the dynamic QB rolled to his right, pump faked at the line of scrimmage and then took off for the end zone.

[21] Despite the disagreement by recruiting companies over his caliber, he received offers from both Power Five schools like Louisville, Florida, Auburn, and Clemson, and mid-major programs like Akron, Western Kentucky, and Marshall.

[42] On December 10, 2016, Jackson was selected as the 2016 Heisman Trophy winner over fellow finalists Deshaun Watson, Dede Westbrook, Jabrill Peppers, and Baker Mayfield.

[43] Jackson became Louisville's first Heisman Trophy winner in school history, and the youngest-ever recipient of the award at the age of 19 years and 337 days.

Jackson declined to run drills such as the 40-yard dash during the NFL Scouting Combine, in order to focus on displaying his passing skills.

[72] Two weeks later, Jackson helped the Ravens defeat the Los Angeles Chargers, completing 12 of 22 passes for 204 yards and a touchdown in a 22–10 upset victory.

[77] Taking the field on the day before his 22nd birthday, Jackson became the youngest quarterback to start an NFL playoff game in a Wild Card rematch against the Los Angeles Chargers.

That philosophy included changing every play in the playbook, the terminology used and drafting players or acquiring free agents that would complement Jackson's skills.

[80][81] During the season-opening 59–10 road victory over the Miami Dolphins, Jackson completed 17-of-20 passes for career-highs of 324 yards and five touchdowns, making him the youngest quarterback to achieve a perfect passer rating.

[89] In the next game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Jackson completed 19-of-28 passes for 161 yards, a touchdown, and three interceptions as the Ravens won by a score of 26–23 in overtime.

[119] Jackson, along with Patrick Mahomes, Cam Newton and Steve McNair, is one of the four African-American quarterbacks to win the AP MVP award.

After the Browns drove down and tied the game at 42, Jackson followed up with a short drive to get the Ravens into field goal range, allowing them to get the road victory by the score of 47–42.

[158] Two weeks later against the Browns, Jackson left the eventual narrow 24–22 loss in the first quarter after suffered an ankle injury when he was hit by Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah.

[168] Despite an initial timetable of one to three weeks for his PCL injury, Jackson missed the final five games of the regular season as the Ravens finished 10–7, earning the sixth seed in the playoffs.

[176] During a Week 7 38–6 victory over the Detroit Lions, Jackson threw for a season high 357 yards and three touchdowns, compiling a near perfect 155.8 passer rating.

[179] In the next game against the Miami Dolphins, Jackson was named AFC Offensive Player of the Week[180] after posting a perfect passer rating for the third time in his career, completing 18 of 21 passes for 321 yards, five touchdowns, and no interceptions during a 56–19 victory.

[184] During the Divisional Round against the Houston Texans, Jackson accounted for all four of the Ravens' touchdowns and led Baltimore to a 34–10 victory, clinching their first AFC Championship Game appearance since 2012.

[187] After an 0–2 start to the season, Jackson led the team to victories over the Dallas Cowboys and Buffalo Bills, with a passer rating of 135+ in both games.

[191] In Week 7 against the Buccaneers, he completed 17-of-22 passes for 281 yards, five touchdowns, and a near-perfect passer rating of 158.1, helping the Ravens overcome an early double-digit deficit and extend their winning streak to five games with a 41–31 victory.

[194] In Week 9 against the Broncos, Jackson recorded a perfect passer rating for the fourth time in his career, completing 16-of-19 passes for 280 yards and three touchdowns in a 41–10 victory.

[199] On Christmas Day against the Houston Texans, Jackson tallied three touchdowns and surpassed Michael Vick as the NFL's all time leading rusher at quarterback in a 31–2 victory.

[200] Jackson capped off a record-setting regular season by leading the Ravens to their second consecutive AFC North title with a 35–10 victory over the Browns.

[280] In February 2020, BET Digital highlighted Jackson as one of 40 of the most inspiring and innovative vanguards in African American culture and who are redefining what it means to be "unapologetically young, gifted & Black".

[282][283] In March 2020, he filed a federal lawsuit against Amazon, charging the corporate giant with engaging in the "deliberate and unauthorized use" of Jackson's name, image and persona.

"[284] In August 2020, Jackson signed an endorsement deal with Oakley, Inc., a company that produces sunglasses, sports goggles and football helmet visors.

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