Stephen A. Smith spilled some tea over the Lamar Jackson-Baltimore Ravens contract dispute.
ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith revealed some very interesting details surrounding Lamar Jackson’s ongoing contract negotiations with the Baltimore Ravens.
Someone in Jackson’s camp contacted the notable sports pundit about what exactly is going on. Smith shared three very important details on the matter. The first is Jackson has never demanded a fully-guaranteed contract. This is a big surprise because the thought was he wanted somewhere in the vicinity of what the Cleveland Browns gave Deshaun Watson after trading for him last year.
The second is that Baltimore has only been willing to offer Jackson $133 million fully guaranteed. Smith finds this number to be insulting, as the Ravens are clearly lowballing him here. He understands that Baltimore is not going to recreate Cleveland’s bad mistake with Watson, but Smith is beside himself in that Jackson is not even being offered what Kyler Murray got in his deal.
And thirdly, Jackson was supposedly not consulted about Baltimore bringing in Todd Monken over from Georgia to be the Ravens’ new offensive coordinator to replace Greg Roman. Not that Jackson has any issues with Monken, but the impression coming out of his camp is something along the lines of “oh, this is your new boss.” Monken was a rockstar previously with Georgia.
Here is Smith’s entire conversation about what Jackson’s camp told him on Friday’s First Take.
Lamar Jackson contract negotiation details leaked by Stephen A. Smith
Strap yourself in for what will surely be a bumpy ride into free agency and well into this summer. Every year, there is one contract dispute that sucks all the air out of the room. It goes without saying that this year’s best candidate would have to be the dispute between Jackson and the Ravens. Of course, Baltimore is going to franchise tag him, but the issue is far from being resolved.
What is weird in all this is how Jackson has gone without any representation this late into the process. While he used the CBA to his advantage in his first five years coming out of Louisville, we have now reached the franchise tag era of his illustrious playing career. Jackson is getting a lofty raise, but it has been pulling teeth to get both parties to agree on a long-term contract extension.
Baltimore may have reservations about doling out so much fully-guaranteed money due to Jackson’s injury history. Conversely, Jackson has every reason to ask for top dollar because that is what the open market will command. This is the price one pays when negotiating with a superstar. Regardless, Jackson’s camp using Smith as a mouthpiece is a sign that things are not going well.
Free agency will be here soon, but things appear far from settled between Jackson and Baltimore.
