Lamar Jackson’s Mother Not Involved In Ravens Talks?

Lamar Jackson‘s decision not to use a traditional agent has made his extension talks with the Ravens one of this year’s top storylines. It is one thing to use this setup to negotiate a draft-slot deal, but hammering out a near-NFL-record extension without an agent veers into new territory.

Previous reports have indicated Jackson and his mother were leading the way in discussing the contract with the Ravens, but Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk notes more parties are involved. Jackson’s mother, Felicia Jones, is not believed to be directly involved in the talks, per Florio. Instead, Jackson and advisers are leading the negotiations.

Still, the 2019 MVP is negotiating a deal expected to surpass $40MM annually without an agent. Although the likes of Richard Sherman and Bobby Wagner finalized notable contracts without an agent, with the latter’s $18MM-per-year pact still the NFL’s top off-ball linebacker figure nearly two years later, Jackson going without an NFLPA-certified agent is a bit different. The NFLPA has approached Jackson about this setup, but the fourth-year quarterback has not hired an agent.

The dual-threat quarterback’s atypical skill set will factor into these agent-less discussions; his struggles in three Ravens playoff losses might as well. Jackson’s run-game usage dwarfs the other current top-dollar QBs, creating a potential longevity concern. The Ravens also have him signed for two more seasons, via the fifth-year option. John Harbaugh, however, has assured an extension will come to pass.

Jackson has said he is not overly concerned if the extension becomes finalized this year or in 2022. The 24-year-old superstar is due just $1.78MM in base salary this season. The modern rookie-contract structure has driven many young quarterbacks to sign extensions before their fourth seasons. Dak Prescott and Kirk Cousins played out their low-priced fourth years, leading to franchise-tagged seasons, but the rest of the young quarterbacks to sign lucrative re-ups over the past several years — Russell Wilson and Ryan Tannehill (2015), Derek Carr (2017), Carson Wentz and Jared Goff (2019), Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson (2020) — opted against playing on their rookie contracts beyond Year 3.

Given the circumstances, it will be interesting to see the guarantee structure and how this extension will stack up next to the agent-driven accords fellow 2018 first-rounders Josh Allen and Baker Mayfield end up signing. How close the AAV comes to Mahomes’ unusually structured deal will obviously be notable as well.

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