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Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson will enter this season in the final year of his rookie contract. Normally, teams and their franchise quarterbacks will try to hammer out a long-term deal before the quarterback becomes a free agent.
Jackson's situation is a bit different. He will play out the 2022 season before engaging in a new contract. Jackson, unlike most NFL players, also doesn't have an agent and he represents himself.
Mike Florio spoke about Jackson's contract situation on the Rich Eisen Show and noted that Jackson wants to have a good outing in 2022 before worrying about a contract extension.
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“And owner, Steve Bashaud. He said a couple of months ago, that Lamar is so obsessed with winning a Super Bowl, [he thinks], deep down, he doesn't think he's worthy. I think he wants that in order to say now [he deserves] to be on top. And that's consistent with what he's told the team, he doesn't want to do anything until after the season, he wants to have the best season he possibly can. And then they'll take care of the contract.”
Lamar Jackson focused on having good season in 2022 before engaging in contract negotiations
Florio had claimed some weeks ago that Lamar Jackson told the Ravens that he’s currently “too focused” on having a strong 2022 season. He doesn’t want to negotiate a deal until next offseason.
"At the start of the season, the story was that he was too focused on football. After the season, the story was that he was too focused on getting healthy. Per a source with knowledge of the situation, Jackson has told the Ravens that he’s currently too focused on having his best possible year and that he doesn’t want to do a deal until the 2022 season is over."
Jackson had his best season in 2019 when he won the unanimous MVP. That season, he led the league in passing touchdowns and broke the single-season record for most rushing yards by a quarterback with over 1,200 rushing yards.
In the past two seasons, his numbers have gone done and he went 7-5 last season as the Ravens' starter. In order for Jackson to get a lucrative contract from Baltimore, he'll need to go back to his 2019 form. That will certainly enhance his standing and leverage to ask for a better contract.
