Will Lamar Jackson get a huge Deshaun Watson-like contract in the coming weeks following his intended exit from the Ravens?
Lamar Jackson has been rejecting offers from Baltimore of $133 million fully guaranteed in hopes of getting more out of them.
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Lamar Jackson (Image via Ebony Bird)
In March 2022, Deshaun Watson signed a massive ‘never before deal’ in NFL history, which caused a tsunami in the quarterback market. The Cleveland Browns traded for the former first-round pick and gave him a $230 million fully guaranteed deal. This trade saw other quarterbacks in the league ask for a similar deal and many of them received upward of $150 million fully guaranteed.
However, one signal-caller in the league is yet to get this kind of lucrative deal, and that is Lamar Jackson. Baltimore Ravens and Jackson are unable to reach common ground on the quarterback’s contract extension. This drama has been going on for almost a year now. The 2016 Heisman Trophy winner is adamant about receiving a humongous deal from the Ravens.
The Baltimore-based club initially offered him $113 million fully guaranteed before increasing the amount to $133 million and Jackson rejected both offers. New reports suggest that the team is now $100 million apart in contract negotiations and this might hurt Jackson’s chances of getting a $200 million fully guaranteed contract extension.
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The Ravens could tag Lamar Jackson unless a big trade offer comes through
The franchise tag deadline is March 7 and if the Ravens and Lamar Jackson are unable to agree on an amount until then there is a strong possibility that the team tags him. There are teams that are looking to sign Jackson, but nothing is set in stone yet. The Ravens have made multiple offers to the 26-year-old who has kept on rejecting them and now the team can franchise tag him and look for trade options. He would have complete control over where he lands just like Russell Wilson had last year.
Another possibility for Baltimore is that they place a non-exclusive franchise tag on Jackson that is worth $32 million. This would allow the 2019 NFL MVP to have trade talks with other teams in the league. If he gets the kind of contract he is expecting and the Ravens don’t match the offer, then they would easily get two first-round picks and Jackson gets the money, and it’s a win-win situation for everyone.
The exclusive franchise tag would not give Lamar Jackson the freedom to enter into negotiation talks with teams. This means Baltimore could have him playing for them in 2023 and potentially in 2024 and 2025 while they work around a contract. The Ravens’ head coach John Harbaugh said after their season ended that Jackson will be playing for them with 200% certainty.
Still, nothing is clear about the situation. Whether the Ravens tag him or give him a new and improved contract extension, only time will tell! It would’ve been of great help to the quarterback if he had an agent representing him and negotiating on his behalf. But the star does it all on his own. Let’s see what more news comes out of Baltimore’s camp in the coming days before the tag deadline.
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Yash Karandekar
(1023 Articles Published)