“Stop Lying”- Lamar Jackson takes dig at NFL for referring Ken Francis as his alleged negotiator
Another day, another interesting twist in Lamar Jackson's saga. This time, the Baltimore Ravens quarterback has taken to Twitter once again to give his own reports about what's going on with his contract negotiations.
On Thursday, a report from Tom Pelissero, an insider from the NFL Network, said that the league has sent a memo to all 32 teams not to negotiate with a man named Ken Francis, who has supposedly acted on behalf of Lamar Jackson. Francis is not an NFLPA-certified agent, and the league has said that any violation of this rule will result in the disapproval of any offer sheet.
But after Pelissero tried to explain to the public who Ken Francis is, Lamar Jackson tweeted that the reporter's tweet was "a lie" and that Francis had never tried to negotiate for him:
Stop Lying that man never tried to negotiate for me 🤣🤣 twitter.com/tompelissero/s…
It's important to remember that Lamar Jackson does not have an agent and he's negotiating a new deal with the Baltimore Ravens by himself. Perhaps the most worrying thing for Baltimore right now is the lack of communication coming from the player, especially as nothing about the situation is clear.
The quarterback received the non-exclusive franchise tag from the Ravens, meaning that he's allowed to sign an offer sheet with any team. If he does so, Baltimore will have two weeks to match the offer; otherwise, his new team will have to send them two first-round picks.
Why does Lamar Jackson not want to play for the Ravens?
Lamar Jackson is looking for a fully guaranteed contract, and whatever team that's willing to give it to him is his preferred destination.
If it's Baltimore, it's better for him, but he's all about his money, which is an important consideration. He was the league's MVP in just his second season, and other quarterbacks such as Kirk Cousins and Deshaun Watson got their fully guaranteed deals doing much less.
The Ravens don't want to give him that amount of money because he's susceptible to injuries due to his play style, but they have no choice other than extending him. Otherwise, he'll hit the market as a free agent in 2024 and Baltimore will lose him for nothing in return.