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Lamar Jackson remains his own advocate.
After Jackson was hit with the non-exclusive franchise tag last week by the Ravens, Schefter broke down the contract offer that the Ravens gave the quarterback in September in an attempt to ward off free agency.
On Monday’s podcast, Schefter said the Ravens offered a contract that had $133 million guaranteed at signing, a total of $175 million guaranteed in case of injury and an additional $25 million in a “springing guarantee” if Jackson were on the roster five days after the start of the 2026 league year.
Schefter added all of those together for $200 million in “total guarantees,” and that was the headline used by Baltimore Beatdown, the SB Nation Ravens blog, which Jackson responded to on Twitter.
133/3years fully guaranteed😒 but I need a agent? 🤣🤦🏾♂️
— Lamar Jackson (@Lj_era8) March 14, 2023
Jackson first responded with a GIF of a confused man, and then added “133/3years fully guaranteed” with a frowning emoji and “but I need a agent?” with laughing and facepalm emojis.
Jackson has famously eschewed having a traditional agent, instead opting to negotiate with his mother serving as counsel.
The distinction in the first part of Jackson’s tweet appears to be about the headline of Baltimore Beatdown and the various uses of the word “guarantee.”
Last offseason, Deshaun Watson signed a five-year contract with the Browns that included $230 million in fully guaranteed money.
Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti, sensing the problem this would cause in his own house, bemoaned the deal.
“I don’t know that he should’ve been the first guy to get a fully guaranteed contract,” Bisciotti said, indirectly referencing both that Watson was accused of sexual misconduct by more than two dozen massage therapists, with a suspension pending, when he’d already been out of football for a year.
Jackson’s “fully guaranteed” money added up to $133 million over three years, which is both less per year and less total years than Watson received from the Browns last year.
The Ravens would argue that the Watson contract is an anvil on the throat of the Browns after Watson looked like a shell of his former self when he returned from the NFL’s 10-game suspension last season.
The Cardinals and Broncos are also underwater on the blockbuster contracts signed by Kyler Murray and Russell Wilson last offseason.
Thus, the current standoff, where Jackson is a free agent, but any team that gives him an offer sheet would also have to pony up two first-round picks should Baltimore not match.
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