After his Baltimore Ravens defeated the San Francisco 49ers, Lamar Jackson did not hold back on Mike Florio, in contrast to the NBC sportscaster’s “disrespectful” forecast.
Florio apologized for his remarks on X, the former Twitter. Then, on Tuesday, he made this poignant yet understanding contrast about how the other NFL owners responded to the quarterback’s requests.
The former NFL MVP refused to play for his team earlier this year in opposition to the franchise tag, offering owner Eric DeCosta two alternatives instead. He has two options: move him or offer him a completely guaranteed contract similar to Deshaun Watson’s (five years, $230 million).
On the eve of the Draft, Jackson finally agreed to a settlement that guaranteed $135 million and would provide $260 million over five years. This put an end to the impasse. It was the largest contract in the league when it was signed, with a signing bonus that broke records at $72.5 million.
However, other owners made sure this would not set a precedent after Browns owner Jimmy Halsam received heat for caving in to Watson’s demands. Florio asserts that Jackson’s 2017 national anthem protests were met with comparable “shunned” treatment to that of Colin Kaepernick.
By way of ProFootballTalk, Florio wrote:
“The player who is about to earn his second MVP award made it obvious that no team was interested in him after one after another. Teams whispered misleading tales to media, just like Colin Kaepernick was shunned, to try to hide the obvious fact that owners wanted to end the practice of offering veteran players five-year contracts that included full guarantees.
“And it was successful. Everyone others was forced to comply after Browns owner Jimmy Haslam received blowback.”
Analysis on Lamar Jackson’s MVP form as the Ravens get closer to the top seed in the AFC
The Lamar Jackson era of the Ravens appears to have been revitalized by the aforementioned contract. Even yet, he has been performing like an MVP contender, making passes with far more efficiency than previously without compromising his ability to rush the ball.
Charles McDonald of Yahoo believes that this is the main reason he ought to be the front-runner right now:
“His overall statistical profile isn’t as dominant as it was in 2019, but his importance to the Ravens’ offense is incredibly apparent during the games.”
“Jackson is the one and only factor that has made the Ravens’ offense one of the finest in the league. He functions on a level that is uncommon among quarterbacks.”
Lamar Jackson is the only MVP candidate now in the minus area (-170) according to FanDuel’s odds. After being knocked down to +1300 by Brock Purdy’s four interceptions, Christian McCaffrey is now his closest opponent at +450.
