Lamar Jackson is in a tricky situation with his contract situation and trade demand. It also appears that the contract situation has left him at a massive gap compared to Josh Allen.
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Lamar Jackson was taken in the same draft as Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold, Josh Allen, and Josh Rosen. He was the last pick of the first round, drafted by the Baltimore Ravens.
He took over Joe Flacco’s job, guiding the Ravens to the playoffs and establishing himself as the franchise quarterback for the team. That playoff appearance was the Ravens’ first in three years.
It seemed clear that Jackson was going to be the Ravens’ long-term solution at quarterback, but the team differed on how much he was valued.
Jackson revealed that he rejected several offers including a deal that could have landed him $133 million guaranteed.
Sources: Lamar Jackson rejected a Ravens’ 6-yr contract offer with $133 million fully guaranteed at signing, which is more than Russell Wilson ($124 million) and Kyler Murray ($103.3 million) but well short of the $230 million fully guaranteed deal that Deshaun Watson got.
— Chris Mortensen (@mortreport) September 11, 2022
However, the situations that led to this point have left Jackson at a massive deficit in terms of money he could have earned up to this point.
Lamar Jackson is at a massive loss compared to Josh Allen
Since the Ravens and Jackson never worked out a proper contract extension, Jackson has still been playing on his base rookie deal which ended after the 2022-23 season.
Richard Sherman already spoke up on how Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen ruined Lamar Jackson’s chance at earning a massive deal because of the fact that they didn’t take deals that were fully guaranteed like Deshaun Watson’s $230 million deal.
Since Allen has already signed his extension, a Twitter post was able to show just how much Jackson has lost out by not signing a deal past his rookie one.
Career earnings:
Josh Allen $85M
Lamar Jackson $33MThey are in same draft class. 😳
Last two years since eligible for new deal:
Josh Allen $67M
Lamar Jackson $25MHe’s never making up that difference.
It’s just sad. It really is.
— Ross Tucker (@RossTuckerNFL) March 28, 2023
Where will Jackson end up?
Several teams will be gunning for Lamar Jackson’s services. At his peak, he’s most definitely an MVP candidate and a quarterback who can lead your team deep through the playoffs.
There are a couple of narratives against him including the lack of much playoff success and the fact that mobile quarterbacks like him have historically underperformed.
However, the Panthers, Colts, Seahawks, and Buccaneers have all expressed interest. The Pats and Falcons have recently seemed to back out of the race.
