There were two huge storylines that ended ahead of the draft. The trade that sent Aaron Rodgers from the Green Bay Packers to the New York Jets was confirmed early that week, but the situation involving Lamar Jackson went all the way to hours before the first round.
The quarterback received the franchise tag from the Baltimore Ravens avoiding the player to become a free agent. Since it was the non-exclusive type any team could negotiate with him, although no offers were reported.
In the end, both sides reached an agreement. The contract signed by Jalen Hurts with the Philadelphia Eagles definitely played a huge role to work as a reference. Adding wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. was another move that enticed Jackson.
Lamar Jackson receives the biggest signing bonus in NFL history
The guarantees were something that separated the player from the team. Jackson was supposedly asking for the same fully guaranteed contract that Deshaun Watson got from the Cleveland Browns, but the Ravens weren’t willing to go there.
Jackson’s new contract is not fully guaranteed, although the structure provides him enough benefits. The five-year contract worth 260 million dollars made him the highest paid player in NFL history averaging 52 million per season. It also has a total of 185 million guaranteed. However, that’s not the only category where he sits at the top.
Baltimore also gave Jackson the biggest signing bonus ever. The previous record was held by Dak Prescott when he got 66M from the Dallas Cowboys. Jackson cashed in a sum of 72.5M, according to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN. He is also set to make 80M in 2023 alone. Though his biggest wins might have been what comes next.
Lamar Jackson’s contract details
Something that contributed to the tension was the Ravens giving Jackson the franchise tag. This mechanism is used by teams to unilaterally keep a player with an expiring contract. That is a part of his new contract that should not be forgotten because it means he will control his destiny when his current deal ends.
Lamar has no-trade and no-tag clauses this time, per Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports. The value of those protections is massive for his security. It means Jackson will have the power to veto any potential trade offer Baltimore may receive in the future. More importantly is that the team won’t be able to franchise tag him again when his contract expires.
