NFL Rumors: Mike Florio believes Lamar Jackson contract saga won't be resolved anytime soon
Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson appears not to be in a rush for a new contract. Jackson and the Ravens still haven't made any progress on a new contract extension, and there's a growing sense that a deal won't be reached any time soon.
When will Lamar Jackson engage the Ravens in contract talks? It may not be until 2023, at the earliest. wp.me/pbBqYq-cf6X
According to Mike Florio, Lamar Jackson has told the #Ravens that he’s currently “too focused” on having a strong 2022 season. He doesn’t want to negotiate a deal until next offseason.
"At the start of the season, the story was that he was too focused on football. After the season, the story was that he was too focused on getting healthy. Per a source with knowledge of the situation, Jackson has told the Ravens that he’s currently too focused on having his best possible year and that he doesn’t want to do a deal until the 2022 season is over." - Mike Florio
"The curious Lamar Jackson contract situation reached semi-boil this week, with owner Steve Bisciotti lamenting the player’s unwillingness to take the team’s money and Jackson responding to speculation that he’s hoping to engineer a path out of Baltimore."
"Through it all, neither Jackson nor anyone else suggested that he’ll decide to engage the Ravens in contract talks. The team is ready, willing, and able to pay him. But he won’t even start the process of making offers or requesting them."
Despite not making much progress on a long-term deal since last off-season, it doesn't seem to bother Jackson as he recently reiterated that he wants to remain a Raven.
I love my Ravens I don’t know who the hell putting that false narrative out that I’m having thoughts about leaving stop tryna read my mind🙄
In his fifth season in the league, Jackson will be making $23.02 million playing under the fifth-year option this season that the Ravens picked up. After the 2022 season, Jackson will be an unrestricted free agent and will look to break the bank then.
Since entering the league in 2018, Jackson has become the identity of the Ravens offense. He was the 2019 MVP while leading the league in passing touchdowns and yards per rush with 6.9 yards a carry. In four seasons as the starting quarterback for the Ravens, Jackson has gone 37-12 while making the playoffs in three out of four years. He's thrown for 9,967 yards and 84 touchdowns with just 31 interceptions.
What makes Jackson special is his dual-threat ability. Jackson is the greatest running quarterback the NFL has ever seen. During his MVP campaign in 2019, Jackson broke the record for most rushing yards in a single-season for a quarterback with 1,206 rushing yards while adding six touchdowns.
Lamar Jackson will be representing himself in contract talks as he has no NFL agent
Unlike most NFL players, Lamar Jackson does not have an NFL agent. At one point, he had his mother running negotiations.
#Ravens Lamar Jackson is still operating without an agent and his mother was running point on negotiations as his business partner. Apparently, that has some people concerned, causing the NFLPA to reach out. The players’ union “has tried to assist with no avail per @CBSSports
In the past, several players have represented themselves without an agent and have negotiated successful contracts. Some of those players include Richard Sherman, Russell Okung, and Jacoby Brissett.
In this off-season, the quarterback market got reset. When the Cleveland Browns acquired Deshaun Watson from the Houston Texans, they signed him to a record-breaking contract. The Browns signed Watson to a five-year $230 million deal that is fully guaranteed, which is the largest fully-guaranteed contract in history.
Following a successful 2022 season, Jackson would likely become a top-five or top-three highest-paid quarterback if he is able to negotiate well while representing himself.