Contract talks between Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens are going down to the wire ahead of Tuesday's NFL franchise tag deadline as neither side shows signs of cracking in their game of poker, and now the team has to decide whether to gamble with its superstar.
The Ravens have been locked in contract talks with the former league MVP, whose deal expires this month, for more than two years but a breakthrough has been elusive with the team not satisfying the 26-year-old's demands for more guaranteed money after the market-busting fully-guaranteed $250million package the Cleveland Browns inked wth Deshaun Watson a year ago transformed the landscape for quarterbacks.
Reports suggest Jackson snubbed a huge $274m offer from the Ravens over six years, with $133m fully guaranteed, alerting teams to his potential availability this off-season. The New York Jets, Atlanta Falcons and Miami Dolphins are among many teams mooted as landing spots if Jackson does become available.
Baltimore executive vice president Ozzie Newsome has confirmed the team will not allow their star QB, who missed the final six weeks of the season with a PCL strain as the Ravens fell to the Cincinnati Bengals in the wildcard round of the playoffs. "A lot of energy will be utilized in trying to get a deal done," Newsome told The Bernie Kosar Show on Monday. "If not, we will put the franchise tag on him."
Teams have until 9pm GMT (4pm ET) on Tuesday to place the franchise tag on players ahead of the new league year starting next week, and the Ravens have two options when it comes to locking down the services of their face of the franchise.
Using the exclusive tag would cost the Ravens $45million for next season, preventing Jackson from negotiating with any other team and securing his place on their roster – although he could theoretically hold out and refuse to play – while buying them more time to finally agree to a long-term deal or dictate trade terms, as the Green Bay Packers did when sending Devante Adams to the Las Vegas Raiders after tagging him 12 months ago.
The alternative for the Ravens is to use the cheaper non-exclusive tag, which would see Jackson paid $32.416m over the next year, but it would allow the 2019 NFL MVP to speak to other teams.
In that scenario, the Ravens would have the right to match any offers made to Jackson or receive two first-round picks as compensation for losing him. Doing so would represent a huge gamble given how hard it is for teams to find franchise quarterbacks, especially ones as talented as Jackson.
Negotiations with rival teams could see his head turned away from the Ravens, wrecking their chances of securing his long-term future at M&T Bank Stadium. However, there is a scenario where Jackson gets to assess the market and see whether the grass is greener or if Baltimore is the right spot for him.
The Ravens would hope the latter outcome is the case, but considering multiple teams were willing to give Watson a contract with enormous guaranteed cash when Jackson has achieved more in the league and has much less baggage off the field, then surely there will be similar deals out there for the two-time Pro Bowler on the open market.
If it comes to that, Jackson could end up costing them more than if they had been more receptive to his demands in negotiations, or they could watch a superstar player walk out the exit door with no succession plan in place.
