The Lamar Jackson contract situation has come many different varying opinions. The one most have referred to is the five-year, $230 million fully guaranteed deal that Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson got when he was traded by the Houston Texans.
That deal has reportedly been the sticking point of Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens contract impasse. Former NFL defensive back and likely future Hall of Famer Richard Sherman doesn’t believe the Watson deal is the issue in Jackson’s contract situation. Instead, Sherman came from another angle where he mentioned the deal signed by Kansas City Chiefs signal-caller Patrick Mahomes in 2020 has played more of a role than that of Watson.
And to a lesser extent, Sherman blamed Buffalo Bills star QB Josh Allen’s extension signed in 2021.
During a recent episode of “The Richard Sherman” podcast with special guest and Pro Football Hall of Famer Calvin Johnson Jr., Sherman divulged his thinking on the matter.
“What pissed me off is when Kirk Cousins got his fully guaranteed deal I thought all the quarterbacks from then on were gonna be like, ‘Hey, if it ain’t guaranteed I ain’t taking it.’ Then Mahomes took that BS deal, just 10 years and wanted it to look like a half billion. But when he didn’t set it, then Josh Allen didn’t set it, now Lamar Jackson’s trying to set it after Deshaun Watson’s already set it. And team owners are like, Nah. We ain’t letting that go.”
Sherman’s take is one that hasn’t been discussed at all, with Mahomes deal only being $141 million guaranteed of the record $503 million total value of the deal. And as for Allen, his deal was team-friendly as well, with him getting $100 million guaranteed at signing and another $50 million at a later date. In all that’s two deals worth over $760 million, and just $291 million in total guarantees.
Not resetting the market at all. Then Watson’s deal blows it out of the water, but is being referred to as an outlier of a deal.
Jackson Had Non-Exclusive Tag Placed On Him For 2023
With the two sides not able to come to an agreement on a deal prior to the franchise tag deadline the Ravens tagged Jackson to protect their investment. But the tag also gives Jackson the right to speak with other teams, and if a deal is met the Ravens can either match it or let him walk and receive two first-round picks in return.
As of now that hasn’t materialized, as teams who don’t have a QB worth speaking of immediately announced that they wouldn’t pursue the dynamic playmaker. It looks as if collusion was and is the name of the game, and Jackson is firmly in the middle of it.
Owners Wanna Keep Control QB Market
When the new collective bargaining agreement was signed in 2021, the owners wanted to make sure they could keep the QB contracts from spiraling completely out of control. And what Browns owner Jimmy Haslam did in acquiring Watson has been frowned upon, and considered just an outlier, and nowhere near the norm.
That’s one of the reasons for the Ravens and Jackson not coming to an agreement.
Another reason is Jackson despite all his success was drafted by former GM Ozzie Newsome in 2018, not by current GM Eric DeCosta, who replaced Newsome after the 2018 season.
Expect Jackson to be playing elsewhere in 2023.
More news from our partners:
