Lamar Jackson Stands Firm: Rejects $105.5 Million Contract with Threat to Leave if Demands Aren’t Met…
Lamar Jackson, the quarterback for the Baltimore Ravens, apparently turned down a contract offer
that was “about $250 million.”According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Ravens made an offer to
Jackson that exceeded the previous contracts inked by Russell Wilson and Kyler Murray. However,
the team was unable to come close to matching the $230 million in guarantees that the Cleveland
Browns provided to Deshaun Watson.
Jackson, the only quarterback in the aforementioned group to have won an MVP, desired a
contract that was as fully guaranteed as Watson’s. Due to the Ravens’ refusal to entertain such an
offer, Jackson will likely be franchise-tagged in March of next year after serving out the remaining
years of his rookie deal.
“He and I talked about it yesterday a little bit, like, ‘Hey man, let’s go be our best, and go focus on
football,'” Coach John Harbaugh of the Ravens remarked. “I know nothing will change with that
since that’s what he’s been doing the entire time. All we have on Sunday is Sunday.”
Being his own representative, Jackson stated he was unwilling to engage in negotiations
throughout the season. Jackson has been receiving legal advice from the NFLPA and his mother,
but doing it alone might end up being a costly error in the long run.
It seems sense that Jackson would seek to surpass Watson’s whole deal and match his completely
guaranteed one. Jackson is the more experienced quarterback on the field and does not have the
same serious off-field issues as Watson, who is facing an 11-game suspension for reportedly having
slept with over 20 women.
It seems sense that Jackson would seek to surpass Watson’s whole deal and match his completely
guaranteed one. Jackson is the more experienced quarterback on the field and does not have the
same serious off-field issues as Watson, who is facing an 11-game suspension for reportedly having
slept with over 20 women.
Practically speaking, an experienced agent might have explained that the Ravens were never going
to match that offer. The Browns’ decision to offer Watson a fully guaranteed contract infuriated
NFL teams, as it may have paved the way for teams like the Ravens to lose their franchise
quarterback contract discussions.
In the end, Wilson and Murray gave in and accepted more conventional offers that lacked complete
guarantees. Wilson received only $124 million in full guarantees from the Broncos, compared to
$103 million from the Cardinals for Murray. Those figures pale in comparison to the deal Watson
received, even if millions more are essentially guaranteed given the form of the respective
contracts.
Leave a Reply