The Lamar Jackson contract saga continues well into the NFL Combine. Even after almost 2 years of tough negotiating, the Ravens have somehow been unable to pull themselves up to meet Jackson’s demands for a fully guaranteed contract. However, there are many who think things would have been different if Jackson had made the choice to actually hire an agent to do his bidding for him.
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The former MVP has time and again given the Ravens enough evidence pertaining to his skills on the gridiron. Barring a few injury spells, Jackson has mostly been consistent in his performance. However, the Ravens are not enthusiastic about paying their QB if the player is not even in a position to play. While the injury concerns are legitimate, it still has a lot of fans and analysts arguing in Jackson’s favor.
Emmanuel Acho says Jackson should’ve hired an agent to better his chances
Lamar Jackson is part of that rare club of NFL players who are negotiating their own contracts. Former NFL linebacker and Fox Sports analyst Emmanuel Acho blames the current stalemate on Jackson’s refusal to hire an agent. “What Lamar Jackson is doing is very interesting, and it is very admirable,” Acho says on ‘Speak’. “Commendable, if you will, having his mother act as his representation.”
“But what I want for Lamar Jackson is for him to get the greatest payday that he could possibly get,” he adds. “See, when you have an agent, they act as a bad guy. I would call an agent a necessary evil. I never liked having agents, because they take your money. But they’re a necessary evil. Meaning your agent will tell you and teams, what you won’t necessarily tell yourself or tell other teams.”
Acho Brings up Kyler Murray’s example to emphasize his point. He says, “Let’s remember when Kyler Murray was trying to get paid. It was his agent that stepped up and said, ‘Kyler Murray wants to be an Arizona Cardinal, Kyler Murray wants to be XYZ’. Kyler Murray, I’m sure, was advised to remove all of the association with the Arizona Cardinals from his social media pages. And he got paid!”
Lamar Jackson does not want an agent to make money off his paycheck
Lamar Jackson has never hired an agent. Even for his rookie contract, he settled on his team of “advisors” to help him secure a deal with the Ravens. Primary in that team, is his mother, who is listed as his official agent in the NFLPA records. Jackson once told USA Today, “I know coming in as a rookie, an agent doesn’t really negotiate anything. You’re going to get the salary you’re going to get.”
However, it seems the lack of an agent might be affecting his chances of securing a lucrative extension. Jackson is demanding a $200+ million guaranteed deal, one which is making the Ravens far too uncomfortable. Though, the consequence of not signing him is losing a future Hall of Fame QB to another team, probably a rival.
For now, there have been no reports on how the negotiations are going. Though, with the free agency only a few days away, things can get dicey for the Ravens if they don’t act now. Will the Ravens finally pull the trigger and place a franchise tag on Jackson? Or will they give in to his demands for one of the most expensive deals ever?
