The saga of quarterback Lamar Jackson’s future with the Baltimore Ravens isn’t over yet.
On Tuesday, NFL Network football pundit Ian Rapoport claimed the 26-year-old turned down a contract offer that included $200 million in guaranteed money.
The proposed agreement would have been presented to him last September. It was a contract worth a total of $250 million, including a $133 million signing bonus.
If he had accepted that offer, the pivot would have received a guaranteed amount greater than what was recently granted to Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts. The latter on Monday initialed a five-year, $255 million deal, including a $179.3 million guarantee. The 24-year-old became the highest-earning athlete in NFL history.
Back to Jackson, he’s a free agent, but the Ravens gave him a non-exclusive franchise player tag. That means they can match an offer the quarterback would accept from one of the NFL’s 31 other rosters or receive draft picks in compensation.
On March 2, Jackson announced in a Twitter post that he had asked the Maryland organization to trade him. However, it appears that the Ravens have no intention of complying with his request.
Both sides have until July 17 to agree on the terms of a long-term deal. After that date, the quarterback has two choices: sign the one-year deal that came with the label, or give up his 2023 season.