When the New England Patriots defensive end, Deatrich Wise, took down the Baltimore Ravens quarterback, Lamar Jackson, for the second time, it seemed as if Wise had Jackson’s number. And he looked as if he was going to keep calling all day. But the QB had other plans.
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Jackson finished the game with 18/29 for 218 yards and 4 touchdowns. And he is now also the only player in the Super Bowl era to score 3 passing touchdowns while rushing 100 yards in the same game. This is apart from the newfound confidence Jackson seems to have discovered, with his passes finding receivers even in positions he wouldn’t usually pass into.
But the single biggest conclusion to make after Jackson’s stellar performance against the Patriots is the large sum of money the Ravens now will have to shell out to keep him with them.
Lamar Jackson enters 5th year of his rookie contract, negotiations at a standstill
Lamar Jackson’s rookie contract ends this year. And the contract negotiations between the Ravens and Jackson are at a standstill after Jackson declined a previous offer. The offer is a five-year extension worth over $250 million with $133 million guaranteed. And this falls short of what Jackson hopes to get out of a contract.
Jackson wants a contract that fully guarantees the payment, rather than the way the Ravens offered it. And this is something the Ravens weren’t comfortable with. They are instead hoping to get a performance-based bonus package deal that could potentially be a big contract.
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But after the last game, it is obvious that the ball is in the QB’s court. It will only be surprising if Jackson doesn’t use his game stats to up the ante. And Shannon Sharpe struck a similar note when he spoke at length about Jackson’s contract issues with Skip Bayless, on the Skip and Shannon: Undisputed show.
“Yesterday’s price is not today’s price, Ravens! What you thought you were going to have to pay him, you’re gonna have to pay him more! The Ravens ain’t believe in Lamar Jackson, God did. And you see these numbers that he’s putting up?… They’re gonna have to fully guarantee 300 million dollars!….. It’s almost like we kind of believe in you, but not all the way.” Said Sharpe.
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Watch This Story: Nothing short of a tragedy: what just happened with Lamar Jackson’s contract
Lamar Jackson is proving to be a force on the field, and his teammates definitely want him on their side. But it will be interesting to see if other teams will try to swoop down and snatch Jackson and his brand of ‘Lamar Football’. Or will the Ravens finally get their act together and guarantee themselves a quarterback that can make a difference when needed?