Arguably the GOAT in Louisville football history takes down arguably the GOAT in NFL history. Tom Brady’s comeback season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, from a football standpoint, has been nothing short of a disaster. The most likely candidate for Brady’s struggles is the announcement of his divorce from long-time partner Gisele Bundchen. But that is nothing more than speculation.
What is not speculation is the fact that Lamar Jackson deserves a new contract. He knows it, the Ravens know it, and the world knows it. After defeating Brady’s Buccaneers on Thursday Night Football, he autographed a fan-made sign that read “PAY ‘EM NOW”.
Lamar Jackson holding up a sign with a clear message... 💰💰 pic.twitter.com/4l76eOvdCK
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) October 28, 2022
As the former Ravens backup quarterback said, “Lamar Jackson continues to do more with less.” Lamar’s arsenal of weapons has been depleted over the years with the departure of Mark Ingram in January 2021 and Marquise “Hollywood” Brown being traded this past offseason. Fortunately, he does still have his security blanket in tight end Mark Andrews, but the Ravens offense is most certainly generated through Lamar. He is the engine to the Ravens machine.
The former Louisville standout is drawing the eyes of the football world as he continues to play at a high level in hopes of a new contract. On Thursday Night Football, Lamar recorded 2 touchdowns and 238 yards passing with 43 yards rushing. Now, the Ravens sit atop the AFC North and are set to take on the New Orleans Saints next week on Monday Night Football.
Sitting in the AFC North with the Ravens is their division rival the Cleveland Browns, who is arguably the biggest reason why Lamar does not have a new deal. The Browns were able to offer Deshaun Watson a $230 million dollar contract over five years fully guaranteed. According to The Pat McAfee Show, a fully guaranteed contract can only be offered if the owner of the team has that amount of money in fluid cash.
So the thought is that Jimmy Haslem has the amount of money in fluid cash and is the reason that Deshaun was able to sign that deal. The implications for the Ravens is that Lamar Jackson is a better football player than Deshaun Watson in terms of on the field accomplishments as well as off the field entanglements.
Jackson, who does not have an agent, negotiates his contracts by himself with the help of his mother. So he does not have the forethought of helping any future up-and-coming athletes in his agency because he does not have an agent. He is actively seeking the best deal for him and his family.
On the Ravens side of the equation, the front office may not have the fluid cash that the Browns owner has, therefore they are unable to offer a contract that is in the ballpark of what Watson received. The reported offer the Ravens gave him was around $100 million less guaranteed money than Watson received. So, Lamar, being the sound businessman that he is, rejected that offer because he not only knows his worth is more than Watson’s but believes in himself enough to get to a point where he can make more money than that.
The moral of the story is that Lamar Jackson bet on himself and it is paying off. He is playing at an incredibly high level while maintaining his health and composure off the field.