Just about everybody involved agrees the Ravens and Lamar Jackson are going to get an extension done at some point in the near future. Just recently Baltimore head coach John Harbaugh called it a “done deal” and said Jackson is “going to get paid.”
For his part, the star quarterback has said he doesn’t care whether it gets done this year or next, and all seems well. But the negotiations leading up to this extension are going to be very interesting, in part because Jackson is still operating without an agent, per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (Twitter link via the Pat McAfee show).
Jackson’s mother is his business partner and is serving as his de-facto agent in this process, Rapoport says. They used the same setup to negotiate his rookie deal and that went through without a hitch, although obviously this is a different animal.
Jackson is “seeing the same sort of eyebrows raised from the agent community and from players as well because his mother is doing it,” Rapsheet reports. “The stakes are incredibly high because if you lock yourself into a bad deal you’d be costing yourself tens of millions of dollars.”
Rapoport also notes that the Ravens are often good at getting team-friendly deals done, making this negotiation particularly “fascinating.”
Jackson, and his mother, will surely be looking for a payday in line with the league’s other top passers. Dak Prescott got four-years, $160MM from the Cowboys back in March, which will be an interesting baseline to compare Jackson’s new deal against.
Of course the NFL is different from other leagues, where it’s not just the top-line dollar amount that matters most, but rather the structure of guarantees and other important accounting details. There’s no reason to believe Jackson and his family don’t know what they’re doing, but the unusual setup will ensure his deal is highly scrutinized whenever it comes.
They used the same setup to negotiate his rookie deal and that went through without a hitch, although obviously this is a different animal.
There’s very little to negotiate on a rookie deal. The league has a salary structure in for all slots, right?
given how long it takes some guys to sign, it may not be as simple as appears
Compared to 10 years ago when guys would hold out for 40+ mil well into training camp the rookie contract is a piece of cake. Not to mention he was a late first so really didn’t have much leverage
The salary is pretty much already figured out but the players that hold out to sign are usually negotiating offset language in rookie contracts
Yoyo is correct. Rookie negotiations, particularly for first rounders, are nearly always about offset language or deadlines for money to be dispensed.
Mom can do the same as an agent. Theres no question he gets paid. So why not avoid paying a middleman? Its like selling your house by owner. Jackson sells himself by his play on the field. He doesn’t need a promoter. Besides what better promoter than ones mother?
Can’t wait for the wanna-be agents and quasi lawyers to jump in.
The reason you pay a professional is you end up netting more money and it’s easier to deal with than doing it yourself. Going into a room saying I’m worth (or my son is worth) X isn’t the same as sending in a professional.
worked fine for David Robertson in the MLB
He also said he’d probably never do it again. MLB is also different – a lot less intricacies in contracts.
Most MLB players that go through with an arbitration hearing hate the process because you need to appear in front of the arbitration panel and hear what the team says negatively about you. Your agent knows how to buffer those comments in an extension / free agent negotiation so you don’t end up hating the team.
Well… There might be worse negotiating tactics than, “Give me what I want or face the wrath of my Mom!”
Just because I know how to cut a steak doesn’t make me a butcher.
This will end badly.
There is no way Lamar Jackson’s mom could be a worse agent than Le’Veon Bell’s agent. Lev should have tried his mom.
Lol what even is this article gotta get mom some airtime action?
My reaction at reading the headline:
That’s sweet of Lamar, to let his mom negotiate his contract.
I wonder if they miss out on certain incentives or endorsement possibilities by not being hooked to an agent that has a working relationship with companies.
The tradeoff is that Lamar probably doesn’t have to pay Mom the standard agents commission.
Anything to make agents less involved is good for the game-and good for players. Even though individual players will lose on their personal deals, the dependence on agents is also a factor in keeping them ignorant of their own financial status.
We always wonder how millionaire sports stars lose all of their earnings-I would think that it’s easier to do if you never worry about money or how you actually get paid. Agents add to the layers of financial ignorance that a lot of players have, in my opinion. So even though Jackson will likely get a lower and less guaranteed deal than he would if he got an agent, he also will be more familiar with the process and of course keep whatever money he earns. I can’t say whether I support not using an agent across the board, but I do think that there are some positives for players in general that are part of the fallout of players representing themselves more.
I think agents are a necessary evil. Owners would have a field day exploiting players with CTE who are trying to negotiate deals without professional assistance.
I agree that there is a necessary component to it all, but super agents like Rosenhaus or Boras and others wield incredible influence over the league and the players. I would agree fully with you if the agents were acting purely as advocates for the players, but frequently they use players as tools for themselves. Players end up with no idea where their money goes or how they even got it-they are told to just “stick to football” and the agents decides everything else.