As Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson continues working towards a new contract, there are varying opinions over how much he should get in his inevitable new deal. ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith shared his perspective today.
On Wednesday’s edition of First Take, Stephen A. made the case that the Ravens should hold off on fully guaranteeing his deal. He believes that while Jackson is certainly worth around $50 million per year, Jackson’s inability to stay healthy at the end of the last two seasons should disqualify him from getting all of it guaranteed.
“He’s worth $50 million a year… I believe Lamar Jackson is worth $200 million guaranteed… You talk about how Patrick Mahomes and his contract wasn’t fully guaranteed. And that’s what I think the situation should be with Lamar Jackson. When you haven’t finished the season the last two years, you didn’t play in the playoffs because YOU were unavailable. The best ability is availability and reliability and those are the two things that you haven’t been over the last couple of seasons. I have to count that against you…” Stephen A. said.
As with just about every take Stephen A. makes these days, fans are mixed. Some feel that he’s right on the money and that Lamar Jackson hasn’t justified a fully guaranteed deal. Others believe that Jackson has more than earned every dollar and that he’s just the victim of bad luck:
Lamar Jackson has certainly accomplished enough in his five NFL seasons to warrant a big-time extension – possibly even an historic one.
But right now the biggest holdup seems to be the difference in opinion between the Ravens and Jackson on how much he’s actually worth.
Until that aspect of the negotiation is resolved, it really won’t matter whether the Ravens guaranteed some, most or all of his contract.