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Lamar Jackson has dominated the offseason news for some time now. He had reached an impasse with the Baltimore Ravens as he held out on extending his contract.
There were indications that he was willing to be traded out if he did not get his deal. Many fans assumed that there was no going back for the quarterback to the team that drafted him.
However, the chips then fell one after another. First, the Baltimore Ravens got Odell Beckham Jr. in free agency, adding a premier wide receiver to their arsenal. Then, Jalen Hurts signed a five-year $255 million contract with the Philadelphia Eagles, making him the highest-paid player after the season he led them to a Super Bowl.
That set the marker for Lamar Jackson's contract as a former league MVP and he finally bagged a $260 million contract for five years. The new deal made him the highest-paid player in the league. The most astonishing part was that he accomplished all of this without an agent, often acting as his own voice and involving his mother in the negotiations.
That has given rise to the belief that Lamar Jackson does not need an agent and perhaps other players should follow suit. However, NFL analyst Mike Florio believes that is a misplaced opinion. He pointed to the quarterback's lack of endorsements as a reason to have a professional representative.
He said:
"Why does he need an agent? How many endorsements as a guy who is an MVP or should be the face of the league? How many endorsements does he have? How many deals do we ever hear Lamar Jackson have? He could have been, I believe, the face of the Nike Jordan brand for football. Could have been. Isn't."
Did Lamar Jackson get the best deal in the NFL?
It has been widely reported that Lamar Jackson got the biggest contract in the NFL, but based on total value it is not. While $185 million of it is guaranteed, it is in fact lower than what Deshaun Watson got with the Cleveland Browns.
Florio believes the Ravens quarterback could have got a better deal with an agent, just like the Browns quarterback did.
He said:
"And I think in part because he doesn't have an agent and this deal now would have been done earlier would have been done better."
Watson's $230 million guaranteed takes place despite multiple sexual accusations and civil lawsuits pending against him. On the other hand, that might point more towards Cleveland Browns' desperation given that it seems out of step with the market.
Jalen Hurts' contract with the Philadelphia Eagles might still be a more appropriate comparison, with $179.3 million guaranteed. Lamar Jackson certainly eclipsed that. However, Hurts did get his contract with one year remaining while Jackson had to wind down his contract before getting his. Hence, the debate rages on.
