Steve Bisciotti: Lamar Jackson approach to contract “unique as hell”

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Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson’s lack of urgency for a contract extension has been a frequent talking point around the team over the last couple of years and it remained one when team owner Steve Bisciotti spoke to reporters at the league meetings on Tuesday.

Bisciotti called Jackson’s approach to contractual matters “unique as hell” and said that he has doubts that the team is going to sign Jackson to a new deal before next season is underway.

“Unless he has a change of heart and calls [General Manager] Eric [DeCosta] and says ‘I’m ready.’ Eric can’t keep calling him and say, ‘You really need to get in here.’ That’s not a G.M.’s job,” Bisciotti said, via Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com.

Bisciotti also offered his view of why Jackson may be approaching contract talks in this manner.

“The kid is so obsessed with winning a Super Bowl, that I think deep down, he doesn’t think he’s worthy. I think he wants that to say, ‘Now, I deserve to be on top,'” Bisciotti said.

Whatever the reason for his stance, Jackson is on track to play out the final year of his rookie contract in 2022. With franchise tags at their disposal, the Ravens won’t be at any great risk of losing Jackson even if he doesn’t come around on a contract but a wrong turn or two could leave the Ravens with second thoughts about a full commitment by the time he is ready to come to the table.

35 responses to “Steve Bisciotti: Lamar Jackson approach to contract “unique as hell”

  1. I hate to say it but guaranteeing Deshaun Watson $250M changes things. If you are the agent of a franchise QB (and you and I can debate all day what is or is not a franchise QB) you would be a fool not to push for that. And if Team X won’t do it then there are about 20 or so other teams that will. That Watson contract changed everything.

  2. This is why players need professional agents. There’s no other way to slice this than bare-naked stupidity!

  3. “He who represents himself has a cool for a client…”

    LJ might want to ink a deal before any injury gets a chance to come along.

  4. He is not waiting to win a Super Bowl before negotiating. This is a ploy on his part to mess with you and create leverage by tightening the window to negotiate a new deal. Based on Bisciotti’s comments, Jackson’s plan is working perfectly!

  5. It’s been said a million times, he needs an agent. He’s a running QB, he needs the security of some guarantees past this season. He better have a great season

  6. The team needs to say”come in & let’s get something long term set up.” Do nothing & the cost to the team is exponentially going to get worse. Watson will not be the last to get an outrageous contract. It maybe too late, already.

  7. It’s unique because he is a great runner but a terrible passer. And actually he dropped down a level in both aspects last season. The backup looked much better and will cost 1/10th the salary.

  8. Lamar has an MVP trophy, therefore, he in entitled to he paid the highest contract in the history of the league. It is that simple. The ravens should be ashamed of themselves for having taken advantage of Lamar for this long as is. Pay him!

  9. My favorite part of this besides it happenning to the Ravens of course, is how much time they are wasting pretending with Lamar.

    Wonderlic. 13.

    It’s just not gonna work, long term for what you need for an NFL qb.

    Now, if he looked like Dan Marino, that’s a different story but this guy can’t look even a quarter that good as a passer.

  10. All I know is he needs to get paid… as a RB. So the AFC North has to legit QBs (Burrow and Watson), Trubisky, and Mike Vick 2.0. Ehh, okay.

  11. “The kid is so obsessed with winning a Super Bowl”…really? Is that why he brags about not coming into the stadium until 40 minutes before game time?

  12. Or, Or and this is just me spit-balling, but maybe he wants 230,000,000 guaranteed for his signature.

  13. The owner is a fool. This gets more expensive everyday. Now it’s going to be at least a five year guaranteed contract. Last month it could have been more flexible with any contract but especially a running quarterback. If a guy with 5 years at 45-50 million goes down the team is cooked

  14. sbc2556 says:
    March 29, 2022 at 4:47 pm
    This is why players need professional agents. There’s no other way to slice this than bare-naked stupidity!
    ———————-
    He waited long enough for Cleveland to give Watson that ridiculous contracts. As another poster said that changes everything. He’s not looking that stupid to me.

  15. It’s unique because he should get a RB contract with incentives for throwing the ball–incentives he likely won’t meet.

  16. Maybe he’s taking the Kirk Cousins approach. Bet on himself, Play under the franchise tag for 2yrs (If Ravens truly don’t want to lose him & he doesn’t need an agent for that)and cash in on big money deal after they wont use it a 3rd time. A stretch I know, but not completely unthinkable. If so he better pray his legs hold up a few more years.

  17. As usual, the Ravens are playing this right. They have a price that they believe he is worth. Lamar thinks differently. They are willing to use a tag or two and let him walk before they mortgage their entire franchise on a bad contract – like the Browns.

  18. Lamar is not a QB. He is a runner that throws. If you were a D-coordinator and he could only stand in the pocket how worried are you. It would essentially be a bye-week. Name me a single older running QB in history. Lamar sign whatever they are offering because they are certsinly overpaying and you will never win a SB and that’s a guarantee.

  19. Franchise tag for QB in for 2022 is almost $30m. With the big QB contracts signed this year, FT QB will easily go up to $35-38m in 2023. Not a bad strategy for Lamar Jackson to “wait”.

  20. I just can’t relate to what these players must be thinking because if a team offered me $30 million even when the top elite qbs are making $40 I’d probably be like “yep , 30 is enough”. Not judging right or wrong just saying I can’t relate.

  21. If you’re a QB, unless you’re getting 9 figures guaranteed, why not play year to year? Look at how much Cousins raked in. Short of having a limb fall off, someone is going to pay him, so the injury risk is low.

  22. fivechampionships says:
    March 29, 2022 at 5:52 pm
    As usual, the Ravens are playing this right. They have a price that they believe he is worth. Lamar thinks differently. They are willing to use a tag or two and let him walk before they mortgage their entire franchise on a bad contract – like the Browns.

    ———————–

    “as usual”

    LOL!!!

    Joe Flacco says hello.

    Is this like when they got left at the altar by Zadarius Smith last week?

    “As usual”

    As usual alright! lol!

  23. By all accounts he’s a good guy and has been good in the locker room, but he’s just not a second contract player. I’m not a “he’s a RB” believer, but his overall skill set does signal diminishing returns as his speed and elusiveness wane while his passing game skills don’t conversely improve at the same rate. Just can’t pay top dollar when you’ve already seen the top return from him in ’19.

  24. If he’s waiting on winning a Superbowl for a new deal then that’s a very long time to wait.

  25. Steve Bisciotti became a multi billionaire with his executive search and employee placement company. Bisciotti Is a master negotiator arguably without equal. When he says “The kid is so obsessed with winning a Super Bowl” pardon me for not excepting that statement at face value. What he’s actually telling Lamar is you better get in here and negotiate a deal while a deal can be had.

  26. Remover what everyone was saying when Dak Prescott was in this same position? Now take a look at the money he’s making. The same thing goes for Lamar Jackson. If you have confidence in your ability to be a champ, you believe time is on your side. What did we learn from Dak? Apparently nothing

  27. He doesn’t think he’s worthy? Interesting words to put in the mouth of someone who is likely angling to follow the Cousins Plan.

  28. The ravens should be looking to draft Jackson’s replacement right now. No way am I giving that guy anywhere near what Watson got. Let some other team pay him or let him test free agency and maybe he comes crawling back after he realizes that 31 other teams aren’t stupid like the browns.

  29. Very simple, Jackson is following the Cousins Pay Plan, and knows the other option is the Watson Pay Plan if all goes well. This is all very simple. No misto magic here folks.

  30. Lamar’s question then becomes: “How many MVP’s has Deshaun Watson generated in his career?”.

    Followup: “How much trouble have I been in, vs Deshaun Watson”

    Oh this gets interesting.

  31. Everyone’s been calling him dumb, but with how much QB contracts have skyrocketed the last few years, he’s due to make way more money. If he’d signed after the MVP season, he’d be a bargain compared to what he’s gonna get

  32. As a Cleveland fan, I really think the Watson contract was absurd. Not only does it hurt the team – both financially and with draft capital given away – but paying this much for one player just puts ridiculous expectations on the team now. What is good enough? Getting to the playoffs? Winning a playoff game? Getting to the SB? The chances of Watson being “worth” what the team paid are slim, in my opinion.

    And this is true of Jackson, as well. His style of play is exciting and can be hard to contain…except when it’s contained in the playoffs. Jackson needs to sign a long-term deal before this season. It’s foolish not to – what if he breaks his leg or blows out his knee?

    This is a very tricky situation and I’m not sure what I’d do if I were the Ravens, but I would not pay him Watson money. No way. Nothing against him, but the kid’s one big hit away from losing his speed and open field skills, ala RGIII.

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