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The oddness and controversy surrounding Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson’s free agency intensified Thursday when the NFL warned teams not to negotiate a bid sheet for the former league MVP with an uncertified agent allegedly representing Jackson.
The memo from the NFL board of directors to team executives, presidents, general managers and contract negotiators said the NFL Players Association, which is responsible for certifying agents to negotiate player contracts with teams, raised the issue.
“The NFLPA has informed us that an individual named Ken Francis, who is not an NFLPA-certified agent, may be contacting clubs and attempting to persuade club officials to enter into negotiations with or regarding Lamar Jackson, who is currently under a non-exclusive Franchise bidding with the Baltimore Ravens,” the memo said. “As an uncertified person, Mr. Francis is prohibited from negotiating offer sheets or player contracts, or discussing potential deals on behalf of any NFL player or prospective player, or assisting or advising in such negotiations.”
Jackson is not represented by an NFLPA-certified agent and has largely conducted his own negotiations, with help from his mother and input from the union. Earlier this month, the Ravens used their non-exclusive franchise player tag on him, which limited his free-hand mobility but didn’t take him off the market entirely.
Lamar Jackson’s absence towers over the Ravens’ playoff hopes and beyond
Clubs are reminded that under Article 48 of the NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement, an offer sheet that may result in an NFL player contract may only be negotiated with the player if he is acting on his own behalf or on behalf of the NFLPA-certified player Agent,” the board wrote in a Thursday memo, copied to the Washington Post. “To be clear, Mr. Jackson is not currently represented by an NFLPA-certified agent. Breach of this rule may result in rejection of any offer sheet or resulting player contract made by Mr Jackson and the new club.”
Here’s the full memo from the NFL Management Council’s warning teams not to negotiate with a man named Ken Francis about Lamar Jackson.
“A breach of this rule may result in rejection of a bid sheet or resultant consequences. Player contract between Mr Jackson and the new club.” pic.twitter.com/v0ibYCfl2J
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) March 23, 2023
In a previous memo the board sent to teams on March 15, the league warned that a team could be fined $54,409 if it knowingly negotiated a contract with an uncertified agent or has not made a “reasonable inquiry” with the NFLPA as to whether an agent is properly certified to act on behalf of a player.
Neither Jackson nor Francis could be reached for comment. Jackson wrote a message Thursday on Twitter referring to his “business partner Ken”.
Jackson too wrote on Twitter: “Stop lying, this man never tried to negotiate for me.”
By using their non-exclusive franchise tag on Jackson, the Ravens left him eligible to negotiate with other teams over a potential offer sheet. They could keep him by matching every offer sheet he signs to a different franchise. They also have the right to receive two first-round draft picks from Jackson’s new team as compensation if they chose not to match a potential offer hand and allow him to depart.
Jackson will be paid $32.4 million next season if he stays with the Ravens on his franchise player deal. The Ravens could have taken him off the market entirely — and made him ineligible for negotiations with other teams — by using the more expensive exclusive franchise player tag.
He also remains eligible to negotiate a new contract with the Ravens. Jackson toyed with the option for the fifth year of his rookie contract last season after he and the Ravens failed to agree on a long-term deal before the opener.
Jackson is believed to be seeking a deal at least comparable to the fully guaranteed five-year, $230 million contract quarterback Deshaun Watson signed with the Cleveland Browns last offseason. However, it has been difficult for NFL players to get fully guaranteed contracts. Two prominent quarterbacks — the Arizona Cardinals’ Kyler Murray and the Denver Broncos’ Russell Wilson — signed lucrative non-guaranteed contract extensions following Watson’s deal with the Browns.
It was mentioned that the Indianapolis Colts may be interested in signing Jackson on a bid sheet. But after several teams initially reported they weren’t interested in signing Jackson, NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith raised the possibility that teams could act inappropriately in violation of the CBA.
“Why [Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk] Cousins and Watson get fully guaranteed contracts, others don’t?” Smith wrote in an essay on the union’s website. “Or to be more specific, why have the Baltimore Ravens and other teams made it so clear publicly (at least initially) that they will not compensate Lamar Jackson with a fully guaranteed contract like Cousins did or Watson did?” To put it bluntly, in my nearly 15-year career as an executive director, I’ve never seen teams so quickly publicly express their lack of interest in a prime-year MVP quarterback with an injury guarantee , regardless of his contract.”
Smith wrote that team owners “have worked together in the past to both depress and constrain markets,” saying that “[t]In his time, they are playing the game themselves criminally.”
But the CBA says teams can only be found guilty of improper conspiracy with evidence, and not solely based on a lack of contract offers and the skills of the player involved.