Why doesn’t anyone want Lamar Jackson? Did the Ravens play their hand right or is it collusion?
If you would have asked me last week about the Ravens signing Lamar Jackson to a Non-Exclusive Franchise Tag which would allow the NFL to set the market for the Ravens quarterback, I would have said you were crazy and at least five to six teams would call and sign him to an offer sheet.
Well, the Baltimore Ravens did just that. They signed him to the Non-Exclusive Tag and guess what, all the teams that are super quarterback needy right now are reportedly not interested in pursuing the former Louisville quarterback.
If Lamar Jackson does not get any offer sheet, he will play in 2023 for 32 million, the price tag for a Non-Exclusive Franchise Tag.
Lamar Jackson took it upon himself to fire an agent and do this all by himself and now it is looking like a huge problem. There were reports yesterday that the Dolphins, Falcons, Panthers, Raiders, and Commanders have all reportedly pulled out the mix for LJ8.
Remember we all know what Lamar Jackson wants. He is looking for a fully guaranteed deal, the same as Deshaun Watson, and the owners do not want to give out a fully guaranteed deal because it puts them in a sticky situation. It is almost like the NFL owners got together and said look, let’s make a huge case against Lamar Jackson who wants a fully guaranteed deal.
Tag him to a Non-Exclusive deal and no one will make an offer to him. Then the Ravens will get him cheaper. I could see the NFL doing this, so could it be collusion?
You cannot blame Jackson for wanting a better contract than Deshaun Watson. I mean think about it, the Browns gave Watson a guaranteed 230 million dollar deal while facing 20 plus accusations of sexual misconduct, and that had every owner in the NFL pissed.
Browns owner Jimmy Haslam broke the code by doing this, and it has opened up a big problem. Now players like Lamar Jackson who have only lost 16 games since joining the NFL want to be paid and they want to be paid accordingly. Think about it, Geno Smith is about to make 52 million this year, and Daniel Jones is at 40, while Lamar Jackson will get 32.4 million on a tag.
Watson had not even played football in a year and a half when he was offered that ridiculous contract by the Browns.
So did the owners behind close doors make an agreement to stand against a fully guaranteed deal?
If no one signs Lamar Jackson to an offer sheet then I will say this is in fact the truth. There is no way a young quarterback like Lamar who can lead a team deep in the playoffs is getting screwed over like this.
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