“Master manipulator” – Deshaun Watson’s agent gets heat for butting in on Lamar Jackson controversy
Lamar Jackson has been one of the main headlines of the 2023 NFL offseason so far.
His future with the Baltimore Ravens remains in serious jeopardy as the two sides have been unable to come to an agreement on a long-term contract extension. This has led the Ravens to place the franchise tag on Lamar Jackson to prevent him from becoming an unrestricted free agent.
This complicated situation has sparked a ton of reactions from many around the NFL.
David Mulugheta is the agent who got Deshaun Watson his massive contract last year from the Cleveland Browns. He is one of the many notable names to chime in on the news. He shared on his personal Twitter account that he thinks some kind of collusion is at play in the contract negotiations between Jackson and Baltimore.
Sounds like collusion to me…. 🤷🏾♂️
Mulugheta's statement caused quite a reaction on Twitter. Many NFL fans took issue with his take on the situation and let him know about it. Here are some of the top comments in response to his Tweet.
Coming from the master manipulator himself… twitter.com/davidmulugheta…
@DavidMulugheta Sounds like the NFLPA overcompensating & using Lamar as a pawn & martyr to me… 🤷🏽♂️
@DavidMulugheta Collusion or consensus? He couldn’t sniff a SB on his rookie deal and it ain’t cus weapons. For Lamar to win a SB he would need Dilfer’s defense, the NFL’s top 3 TE’s and Wolverine’s healing powers. He’ll never win a SB but can’t even get close if he’s over 20% of the cap.
@DavidMulugheta @jjones9 In order for something to be collusion there must first be evidence teams would make a different decision than the one being made. Lamar Jackson did not play the final six weeks of the season. This is typical football reasons being made for a player that overplayed his hand.
@DavidMulugheta @AkronJackson Maybe. Or maybe teams see Lamar as a guy whose game is already aging poorly, has missed the last 2 Decembers, and isn't proficient at actually throwing the ball, which is kind of important if you're giving a QB $250M. Maybe he's already played his best ball.
@DavidMulugheta Yea, it’s super believable that the whole NFL is in on letting the Ravens keep Lamar Jackson.
@DavidMulugheta 1. Blame it on the Browns
2. Prove it
@DavidMulugheta No sounds like you screwed the market
@DavidMulugheta It’s Deshauns fault lol. No one giving out that contract ever again
@DavidMulugheta You broke the system last year D. You got DW4 the best deal on the market and the owners are reacting to that this year. I think you are 100% correct on this one but to be honest when you win in the short term the owners react and will suppress the market.
Many NFL fans pointed out that David Mulugheta disrupted the quarterback market with the insane deal he got Deshaun Watson with the Browns last offseason. Despite not playing football for an entire and carrying a pending legal situation at the time, Mulugheta was able to negotiate a fully-guaranteed contract worth $230 million over five years.
Watson's contract carries the most guaranteed money in NFL history. Lamar Jackson could possibly use this contract as his starting point in negotiations with the Ravens.
The exact deal he's looking for has yet to be made publicly clear, but his asking price has apparently been too much for the Ravens to agree to. He could be asking for more money than Watson in a similar fully-guaranteed structure.
Does Lamar Jackson deserve a bigger contract than Deshaun Watson?
A strong case can be made that Lamar Jackson is a more valuable quarterback than Deshaun Watson. While Watson once led the NFL in passing yards, Jackson has already won an NFL MVP award.
Jackson is also younger than Watson, while being one of the best rushing quarterbacks in NFL history. He set a single-season quarterback record of 1,206 yards in 2019.
Lamar Jackson also ranks fifth in career rushing yards among quarterbacks, despite playing in just five seasons of his career so far. He's truly a special talent and is looking to be paid what he believes he's worth.
An interesting wrinkle to the entire situation is that Jackson has been representing himself after choosing not to hire an agent. He may want to reconsider this decision as it could potentially help him get what he's looking for with professional negotiators.