The Baltimore Ravens are out of the AFC Playoffs in large part due to their quarterback play. 2019 NFL MVP Lamar Jackson missed the last five games with a leg injury. This past year was Jackson’s fifth in the NFL and may have been his last with the Ravens. According to some reports, Jackson and the team are very far apart on contract talks, with the Ravens making him what some might call an insulting offer.
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The Ravens Offered Lamar Jackson Less Guaranteed Money
In a sport where injuries can be devastating and cut careers short, there is no greater incentive for players than guaranteed money. For their part, Baltimore offered their MVP quarterback a contract that included $133 million in guaranteed money. The problem with that is this: it’s almost half of the guaranteed money another quarterback, with far less success, received.
As noted above, Deshaun Watson received $230 million guaranteed from the Browns. While Jackson may have suffered some injuries in the past two seasons, Watson hadn’t taken a snap in almost two years due to his extracurricular activities and suspension.
The $133 million guaranteed would not even be in the top five among guaranteed contracts for quarterbacks:
- Deshaun Watson: $230 million
- Kyler Murray: $189.5 million
- Russell Wilson: $161 million
- Aaron Rodgers: $150.8 million
- Josh Allen: $150 million
- Patrick Mahomes: $141.4 million
- Matthew Stafford: $130 million
As one can see, if Jackson had agreed to that deal, it would have been the seventh-riches contract in the NFL in terms of guaranteed money.
