The Lamar Jackson contract saga continues the Ravens quarterback who is entering the fifth and final year of his rookie contract still has not signed with the team.

He said earlier this week the deadline is probably Friday. Any time you say probably that means it's not really a deadline. It would be artificial. Anyway, the question is will both sides respect it and get a deal done. I doubt

that a deal is going to happen. And one of the reasons why there's two reasons. One, he doesn't have an agent never had an agent didn't need one five years ago, didn't need one when he did a slotted rookie deal.

Those deals are easy to negotiate 30 second pick in the draft you negotiate that deal in five minutes.

Franchise quarterback MVP in 2019 quarterback deals that are structured differently, complicated process agent needs to be talking to the front office every day, multiple times a day fully engaged. That can't happen when you got a guy who's getting ready for football season. That's just the way it is.

And it's not a knock on Lamar. It's a recognition of the reality of the significance of this contract. It is an unprecedented situation to have a player representing himself with this kind of money at stake. And when the notion of a fully guaranteed contract thanks to the Shaw Watson deal that the Browns signed in March.

When that becomes something the quarterback wants and the team says no way in hell. At some point the quarterback has to say I'm not getting the fully guaranteed contract. My circumstances are different than the Shaw Watson. He was in a position where the planets lined up perfectly. I'm not in that position. So what else are the Ravens willing to do.

See, that's the question, Peter. And that's where an agent would be very helpful to Lamar Jackson. And I know the kind of bristles at this and people think, oh, oh, why are you trying to carry water for the agents? Well, look, they are the experts. They are the doctors. They are the ones who can diagnose the situation and give the proper advice. What are the Ravens willing to do. And then when you take that information, you go back to the client and say door number one.

What the Ravens are offering door number two, 23 million this year with no guarantee beyond it. And no idea what's going to happen. Here's the door. I think you should take as somebody with experience and knowledge and wisdom and who isn't you because you're too close to it. Lamar Jackson, somebody else needs to give him that advice. And without it, Peter, this deal is never getting done.

Hey, Mike, let me ask you a question. What is the franchise exclusive franchise number in 2023, approximately, approximately 46?

Okay. So if you're Lamar Jackson, isn't the question really, am I willing to play two years for 70 million?

You know, isn't that the big question? Am I okay with playing the next two years at a position where I'm going to get hit a lot? Am I okay playing two years, 70 million?

That to me is the question. If if they don't get a deal done this year, and Mike, you know what? I absolutely agree with you in the way that just because they don't get a deal done by opening day.

You tell me if Lamar Jackson, if you're Eric DeCosta, the GM of the Ravens, and Lamar Jackson walks into your office one Friday afternoon in week six and sits down and plops down in your chair and you close the door and say, and he says, hey, listen, what would happen if we just wanted to do X?

Okay, I will guarantee you if it was agreeable to the Ravens, they don't care what was said on Labor Day weekend about some phony deadline, you know, they're going to negotiate a deal.

And by the time that he walks into the office or walks into camp the next morning, they will have a 27 page contract with all the addendums done waiting for Lamar Jackson to sign.

And again, I'm not saying it's going to happen. In fact, I don't even think it's likely, but this thing about a deadline before the season is silly. It's just silly. Let things settle down, let everything get all cooled off.

And then at one point during the season, when no one's antennae are up and because nobody would be leaking this at that time, you know, just try to get it done. And if it doesn't get done, it doesn't get done.

Then again, you put it off till the end of the season and you see what happens. But the biggest question to me, if I'm Lamar, is am I willing to play?

And I'm not saying that it absolutely what happened, but am I willing to play two years, $70 million.

Am I willing to subject my body to those kind of things knowing that if I got some serious injury in those two years that I might have gambled in correctly, rather than taking whatever the guaranteed number would be now.

Let's say 150 rather than getting that done right now and having a contract that would tie me to the team through the end of let's say the 2027 season.

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