Is Lamar Jackson rooting for Odell Beckham Jr. to ignore Ravens? Shannon Sharpe explains Baltimore's offer
Lamar Jackson doesn't appear to be getting the mega contract offer that he wants. However, fans and pundits are increasingly talking about the team potentially getting him more weapons to throw at in 2023 in an effort to entice him to stay. Shannon Sharpe believes it will have an opposite effect. Here's how he put it while speaking on Undisputed:
"I don't really think that Odell going to Baltimore changes anything in Lamar Jackson's mind. That just means they got less money to give Lamar. That's how Lamar is looking at it. Lamar thinks, 'Oh, y'all got money. They come up and give [Odell money]. Y'all got money to [for him but not for me].'"
Why are all of these teams so publicly “out” on Lamar Jackson, an MVP winner in his prime at the most important position in the entire NFL?
What am I missing here?
Odell Beckham Jr. finds himself in opposite but similar situation to Lamar Jackson
The Ravens quarterback is on the inside looking to get out. Meanwhile, Odell Beckham Jr. is on the outside looking to get in. That said, both the quarterback and receiver appear to be looking to get their money before anything else. Beckham has taken to Twitter to denounce rumors that he wants $20 million per year.
The Ravens reportedly made a contract offer to OBJ :
“If I’m OBJ, why am I signing with Baltimore when Lamar may not be there? This also means there’s less money to give to Lamar.”
— @ShannonSharpe https://t.co/IZkpXWGtx6
However, rumors now allege that he wants about $15 million per season. Meanwhile, the Ravens quarterback is rumored to want a fully guaranteed deal in the vein of Deshaun Watson. According to Spotrac, Deshaun Watson is playing on a five-year, $230 million deal that is fully guaranteed.
Pundits believe that Watson's deal was the first wave of a new movement in the league. Many have argued that if Lamar Jackson gets his deal fully guaranteed, there will be nothing stopping the rest of the quarterbacks from demanding fully guaranteed pay.
As it stands, owners can point to the Browns quarterback's deal as an outlier. If it happens again, it becomes close enough to a pattern of change to be accepted as one.