Lamar Jackson blasts report about big offer Ravens made to him

Oct 6, 2019; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) warms up before playing the Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Lamar Jackson is done staying quiet as rumors swirl about the ongoing contract negotiations between him and the Baltimore Ravens.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported on his podcast this week that Jackson turned down a substantial offer from the Ravens. Schefter says the offer, which was supposedly made last September, included $133 million guaranteed at signing and a total of $175 million guaranteed for injury. Those guarantees would have been more than what Russell Wilson got from the Denver Broncos and Kyler Murray got from the Arizona Cardinals.

Jackson says that report is inaccurate. He indicated in a series of tweets on Tuesday that the Ravens offered him a three-year, $133 million deal that was fully guaranteed. The star quarterback also mocked those who think he should hire an agent.

Schefter said the offer the Ravens made to Jackson also included a “springing guarantee” of $25 million that would have kicked in if Jackson remained on Baltimore’s roster on the fifth day of the league year in 2026.

It has been widely reported that Jackson wants a contract similar to the one Deshaun Watson signed with the Cleveland Browns last year, which was a fully guaranteed five-year, $230 million deal.

Jackson’s claim that the Ravens offered him $133 million guaranteed over three years is actually consistent with everything that has been reported. That is the amount Schefter said would have been fully guaranteed at signing. One recent report said Jackson and the Ravens were more than $100 million apart in negotiations, and that would be the difference between Watson’s $230 million deal and the $133 million guaranteed that the Ravens offered Jackson.

The issue seems to be that Jackson cannot accept that Watson’s contract was an outlier. Several top quarterbacks have signed new deals since, and none included anything close to the guarantee that the Browns gave Watson. If the Ravens offered Jackson $133 million guaranteed at signing, that does not sound unreasonable at all.