Tim Benz: Lamar Jackson is negotiating. He’s not a ‘$32 million victim’
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I’m never done being impressed with Twitter’s ability to turn anyone it wants into a victim.
Even if that “victim” is getting a pity party for receiving $32 million and reportedly turned down an offer of $133 million guaranteed.
This week’s social media poster child for heroism in the face of corporate mistreatment is Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson. The former NFL MVP received the non-exclusive rights franchise tag from the Baltimore Ravens this week because the two sides couldn’t come together on a long-term contract extension.
That means the Ravens and Jackson have until July 15 to figure out a new contract. If no deal is reached by then, Jackson will play the season on a one-year contract. That salary is set either at the average of the top five salaries at the player’s position or by calculating 120% of the player’s current salary. The player gets whichever is higher.
For Jackson, the number is $32.4 million. Poor guy.
A non-exclusive franchise tag allows a tagged player to negotiate a deal with different teams. The player’s current team has the option to match the new team’s offer. If they don’t, the player can sign with that new organization, and his former employer is rewarded two first-round picks as compensation. (The exclusive tag gives the original team exclusive negotiating rights. Players can either accept the tag — $45 million for a QB — and work toward a new long-term deal or simply refuse to play).
Jackson reportedly wants $250 million guaranteed because the Cleveland Browns gave quarterback Deshaun Watson $230 million guaranteed before last season. Thus far, no team seems willing to meet the price (in terms of cash, draft compensation or both) of acquiring Jackson. In fact, multiple teams — including the Panthers, Raiders, Falcons and Commanders — have leaked out that they don’t have interest.
So, obviously, that’s collusion, right? And Jackson is suffering grievous mistreatment and disrespect from NFL ownership.
Wait. What’s that red light flashing in the distance? Well, of course, it’s the social media virtue signal. Twitter to the rescue!
This Lamar Jackson disrespect is OUTRAGEOUS
— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) March 7, 2023
This Lamar Jackson situation needs to get more attention. Teams would rather lose or employ worse players than pay a Former MVP in his prime. Can you imagine Burrows getting a NON Exclusive tag and there being NO interest?! Its INSANE!
— Richard Sherman (@RSherman_25) March 8, 2023
Why are all of these teams so publicly “out” on Lamar Jackson, an MVP winner in his prime at the most important position in the entire NFL?
What am I missing here?
— JJ Watt (@JJWatt) March 7, 2023
So a former league MVP, 4th in overall wins since entering the league, entering his 5th year & the same age as incoming rookie Stetson Bennet is free to negotiate… but all these teams know before speaking to him that they’re good? Yea right there’s no collusion! https://t.co/8hXVUygRoV
— Ryan Clark (@Realrclark25) March 7, 2023
It's virtually impossible to prove collusion. But we know it when we see it. And we're already seeing it with Lamar Jackson, now that he'll be available to talk to other teams but three have quickly made it known they're not interested in talking to him. https://t.co/P5ihypkjjV
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) March 8, 2023
Let’s get one thing straight about NFL salary collusion. If NFL salary collusion was an effective tool, Watson never would’ve gotten $230 million in the first place. Especially given the legal concerns he was facing at the time.
If collusion was an effective tool, does a far less accomplished QB like Daniel Jones get $82 million guaranteed? Does a guy like Christian Kirk — who never had 1,000 yards receiving in a season — get to reset the standard of what an acceptable wide receiver contract is, as he did last season with Jacksonville at $72 million overall? Even here in Pittsburgh, despite never being part of a playoff win and missing a slew of games over the past two years, OverTheCap.com has T.J. Watt’s cap hit at $29.3 million for 2023.
I’d be a total pollyanna to say NFL owners don’t collude on certain matters. But if they are colluding to repress contract inflation, they are doing a lousy job of it, and Jackson shouldn’t be too worried. Someone will break rank soon enough.
To the question of “why are all these teams so publicly backing away from Jackson,” I don’t know. That seems a little weird to me as well. But, again, to my point. The owners are so bad at collusion they may even manage to make it look like they are colluding when they are not.
Or, it could be that the other teams want to make it public to the Ravens, Jackson and his advisor (his mother) that they aren’t going to be used as tools to set the barometer for what an eventual agreement will look like.
But, back to the colluding allegations, isn’t it funny that Commanders owner Daniel Snyder is one of the owners of a quarterback hungry-team that appears to have leaked out its lack of interest in pursuing Jackson? I mean, what possible motivation would Snyder have to collude with a group of other owners who want him out of the league.
In one sense, he’d be motivated to break rank from any form of “collusion” to sign Jackson because he wants the player and doesn’t care what the owners think. In another, he may be motivated to vindictively sign Jackson, raise the bar even more than what Jimmy Haslam did in signing Watson in Cleveland and screw over the owners on the way out the door.
Yet apparently not even Snyder wants to be part of a Jackson deal.
Honestly, did 31 owners really have to gather among themselves and verbally agree — or put in writing — that the Browns were crazy to give Watson that kind of guaranteed money? Isn’t it possible that they could’ve figured that out on their own?
Isn’t it possible that no other franchise sees the value in giving Jackson what he wants, on top of two first-round picks when Jackson has been hurt at the end of each of the last two years and has just one playoff win under his belt?
And for those saying that we should feel sorry for Jackson because he is being bullied by the franchise tag, stop! The franchise tag is in the collective bargaining agreement. It’s been on the books since 1993. If the players union felt strongly about getting it off the books, it could’ve by now.
Jackson isn’t a victim. He chose to bargain at high levels with billionaires. He made his $32 million bed. Now he has to sleep in it.
But I’m sure it still has high thread-count sheets.