“You’re Going to Get Burnt”: Charles Barkley Had a Brutally Honest Piece of Advice For Lamar Jackson as Ravens Drama Nears Conclusion

Lamar Jackson–Baltimore Ravens shenanigans have been going on constantly. His face-off with his team has garnered much judgment from prominent celebrities. Players like Robert Griffin III have spoken up against the Ravens. In fact, fans thought that the organization’s behavior has been very unfair towards the quarterback. However, many analysts and prominent sports personalities have spoken up against Jackson as well. One of them is prominent NBA legend and HOFer, Charles Barkley.

Barkley took to ‘The Really Big Show’ on 850 ESPN Cleveland to talk about the kind of implications Jackson might face if he doesn’t at least give the offer from the Ravens a second look. He went on to be quite brutal with his wise words for the quarterback.

Wise words from Charles Barkley to Lamar Jackson

Barkley did not hold back as he spoke about the kind of risks Jackson was taking. He mentioned that Jackson’s tactic to get a higher guaranteed contract is not going to work. Furthermore, Barkley mentioned the bigger picture that had to be taken into consideration for the QB’s actions. The Phoenix Suns legend gave the young QB some brutal but effective advice. As per NBC Sports, he said, “Lamar, you’re playing with fire, brother. You’re going to get burnt. These dudes, they’re all billionaires. They’re not going to let you screw up their business model. You’ve got to take the best deal.”

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Furthermore, Barkley also spoke about how Jackson doesn’t really have a choice in terms of where he’ll be going. Interestingly, the Ravens did up the offer for the quarterback in terms of guaranteed money. His new stipulated contract would even beat out the Super Bowl runner-up QB, Jalen Hurts, who recently signed the biggest player deal any Philadephia Eagle quarterback has signed.

Ravens’ latest offer to Jackson

Hurts’ performance in the Super Bowl went on to be rewarded by the Eagles with almost $180 million in guarantees. His efforts for the Super Bowl were recognized. However, the Ravens QB received an even bigger offer as compared to what he was being offered earlier by the Ravens. The Ravens had initially offered Jackson a contract that included $133 million in guarantees. However, he had turned it down, citing the example of Deshaun Watson’s huge contract of a whopping $250 million guaranteed. The Ravens QB had demanded more. Owing to this ask, the Ravens went on to increase the offer for Jackson to $200 million in guarantees, beating out Hurts’ contract.

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Interestingly, Jackson would become one of the highest-paid QBs with an annual salary close to $51 million, eclipsing even Old-Man Rodgers. Jackson has yet to even make a Super Bowl appearance, much less win one. The biggest accolade Jackson has as leverage is the fact that he is one of the only 2 unanimous MVPs of the league. With such a huge offer coming from the Ravens, the window of opportunity might be closing for the double-threat QB. He might also take into consideration that if he joins back, he will have the help of OBJ to take a legitimate shot at the Super Bowl.

With the kind of offer the Ravens have given him recently, Barkley clearly thinks that Jackson should take it. It only depends on the QB’s actions if he ends up taking such a lucrative offer or if he’ll ride out until he gets paid the way Watson does.