It’s unclear whether the Ravens and quarterback Lamar Jackson would have negotiated a contract if the Browns hadn’t given quarterback Deshaun Watson a fully guaranteed five-year, $230 million contract. It’s pretty clear that Watson’s contract played a huge role in keeping the Ravens and Jackson from doing something. It’s widely believed that Jackson wanted a fully guaranteed contract, especially since Watson got it. It’s not an unreasonable position for Jackson to take. He won the league’s MVP award. Watson didn’t. Jackson has been a role model citizen for the Ravens off the field. Watson, to put it mildly, doesn’t have it. If Watson deserves five fully guaranteed years, so does Jackson. Conversely, it’s not unreasonable for the Ravens to refuse to do so. Later contracts (such as the Kyler Murray and Russell Wilson deals) suggest that the Watson contract was an aberration. Indeed, the planets lined up perfectly for Watson. Despite the off-field issues, he: (1) forced a trade from Houston; (2) managed to get four teams to the table in an attempt to land his services; (3) eliminated the Browns from consideration after burning the bridge with Baker Mayfield; and (4) saw a desperate Browns franchise make Watson an offer he couldn’t refuse, in the form of a fully guaranteed deal. Jackson, unless he can be traded after the 2023 season, won’t be able to generate the same kind of rush for his services. Even if he does, one of the teams chasing him would have to be desperate enough to offer the kind of contract that would draw derision and disapproval from the rest of the league. And if the Ravens decide to apply the franchise tag for 2023 and 2024, Jackson remains three years away from Kirk Cousins-style unrestricted free agency. Jackson, given his style of play, may not be the same player after three more years of regularly running the ball and taking hits. It’s another reason Jackson needs an agent to explain the situation to him. Who would tell him why Watson’s deal was an unattainable goal, without first and foremost a willingness to refuse to play for the Ravens. Who would advise him on the risks and rewards, the costs and benefits, the pros and cons of taking or not taking the best offer the Ravens put on the table. Then there’s the possibility that Jackson was, and still is, quietly consulted by the NFL Players Association. Union president JC Tretter wrote an essay after the Watson deal urging agents to push for fully guaranteed contracts. What if the NFLPA, in whatever advice it gave Jackson, tried to advance that agenda instead of considering Jackson’s true best interests? Since Jackson hasn’t told anyone much about the process, it’s fair to wonder where and who he’s been getting his advice from. If someone advised him to stick with a fully guaranteed contract without explaining that he might be better off getting as many guarantees as he could and maximizing his compensation over the Murray and Wilson contracts, that would help explain the refusal to accept Baltimore’s final offer — if they were willing to go beyond Murray and Wilson’s numbers. No one knows what the Ravens offered. But these are the Ravens, not one of the various dysfunctional teams that always find a way to screw things up. Given the deals they’ve made over the past few years with key players, it’s fair to assume the Ravens put together a package that, while not fully guaranteed, became a strong alternative at $124 million over the next three years, on a one-year basis base of $23 million in 2022, approximately $46 million under the exclusive franchise tag in 2023 and then $55.2 million under the tag in 2024. Unless Jackson plans a power play, such as demanding a trade after the 2022 season, the pick ended up at Door No. 1 ($124 million over three years) or at Door No. 2 (Baltimore’s best offer, as part of a deal that wasn’t fully guaranteed). He chose Door No. 1. He has every right to do so. We hope he did so with full understanding and appreciation of the implications of going through Gate No. 2. Saying, “It wasn’t fully guaranteed” is not a good enough reason to do that.
