With the NFL making it clear to all teams that they must not negotiate with uncertified agent Ken Francis regarding Lamar Jackson, Jackson has a decision to make.
Does he attempt, on his own, to get teams to potentially sign him to an offer sheet, or does he hire an NFLPA-certified agent to do it?
He’s possibly even more determined not to hire an agent now, given basic human nature and stubbornness. The more any of us believe someone else wants us to do something we don’t want to do, the less likely we are to want to do it.
It nevertheless remains in Lamar’s best interests to do it. Even if he isn’t willing or able to admit it, it’s the truth. More and more people seem to realize it.
And if it’s all about appearances — about not letting anyone think he relented even if he did — there’s a strategy he could pursue. He could try to secretly retain an NFLPA-certified agent.
Here’s how it would work. He’d hire an agent and decline to sign a Standard Representation Agreement, which makes the relationship public and open and known. The agent would then send a letter to the union explaining that Jackson wants the agent to represent him, but that Jackson doesn’t want to sign an SRA.
To work, this approach would require extreme discretion by all involved, including the teams to which the agent would be talking. Inevitably, however, word would get out that someone certified by the union is working on behalf of Lamar.
Unless, of course, the agent works only with the Ravens and no other team. Why bother with other teams at this point, if they’re not going to pursue him? For Lamar, the best move could be to do a deal with the one team that clearly wants to employ him, now and into the future.
That’s one of the other problems with not having an agent. The agent can say to Lamar, “This is your best option. And it may be your only option.”
Lamar, like plenty of other self-represented players, started down this path in order to save a little money. He likely has learned, whether he’ll admit it or not, that agents do a lot more than make a few calls and send a few emails and take a percentage of the total deal. Whether those lessons are enough to get him to finally do what he should have been doing all along remains to be seen.
Still, the sooner he does it, the better off he’ll be.