The Lamar Jackson Conspiracy Theory

[RamFan503]

It has to be collusion. I mean... what NFL owner wouldn't be falling all over themselves to give up two 1st rounders AND pay a huge, fully guaranteed 2nd contract to a QB that has never completed a full season, is coming off a very mediocre/injury season, and whose playing style virtually ensures future injuries and potentially a short career?

FFS! Baltimore wasn't even prepared to give a mega deal to their own QB WITHOUT having to give up two 1sts. It can be nothing short of collusion. We MUST have an excuse outside of logic.

 

[WestCoastRam]

Can't it be collusion AND all the other reasons (injury risk, not wanting to give guaranteed contract, not wanting to do the Raven's work for them)?

 

[Merlin]

People are so stupid. Jackson is a Hall of Fame RB who can throw the ball. Is it smart to pay him QB wages when he cannot be afforded the protections of the pocket due to his play style? There is no way I'd chase that clown.

His team that has benefitted from his play isn't willing to pay him. Teams around the league don't want to run an offense centered around the QB running the ball like he's in a 50s rewind video. I mean this isn't rocket science here.

Sometimes good sense can look like collusion. As in teams are waking up to the fact they can't afford to gamble that much cap percentage on one guy when he's constantly taking shots by defenders.

 

[OldSchool]

Can't it be collusion AND all the other reasons (injury risk, not wanting to give guaranteed contract, not wanting to do the Raven's work for them)?

Can it be that teams don't wait until the last minute to decide on these things? Front offices aren't going to wait until the announcement has been made to analyze whether trading for him and giving him a crap ton of money is the best move for their team. He's had one really good year and some mediocre years and he's never to my recollection played a full season ever. His play style tends to lead to injury problems for QB's and giving up that much guaranteed money he's reportedly asking for is dangerous. Add to that he's his own agent so negotiations can be tricky. I don't blame a team for not being in on him especially if they have a higher 1st round pick this year and can get a cheap QB.

 

[Merlin]

Using this year's draft as an example there are QBs who can run the ball for you if you want to pull a Greg Roman and scheme it up that way. They're young with fresh legs and won't require a bazillion dollar contract. You can actually build around them too after you pick them, and have money for FAs. So why pay Lamar Jackson all that money so he can do what you can find other guys to do in every year's draft.

Yeah they can't run as well as him. But the Florida kid looks pretty damn similar to me. He's got some rare athleticism and instincts running the ball. Ravens looking at the draft like hmm Richardson, Hooker, Cunningham, etc., etc., etc., why would we pay this clown again?

 

[RamFan503]

Can't it be collusion AND all the other reasons (injury risk, not wanting to give guaranteed contract, not wanting to do the Raven's work for them)?

It could always be collusion just as it could always not be collusion. But what does logic tell you? Does it make sense that the entire NFL outside of Cleveland is getting together to make sure no one signs a generational talent (if the argument is that he is all that) rather than just seeing that his contract and giving up that much draft capital is a potentially crippling move? Or does it make sense that owners had already put a value on him and seeing that they would have to offer potentially a record setting deal and give up two 1sts, it was a no brainer to simply say, "Yeah, I'm out." It's not like the situation was some guarded secret. Every owner in the land has known they could possibly trade for him but that the price would be very high. Is it surprising that right before the tag deadline, several backed out?

 

[AvengerRam]

Can't it be collusion AND all the other reasons (injury risk, not wanting to give guaranteed contract, not wanting to do the Raven's work for them)?

I think there should be evidence of collusion before accusations are made. There is no such evidence.

 

[dieterbrock]

Its league wide collusion despite Geno Smith and Daniel Jones receiving the same ridiculous contracts that Jackson was aspiring to get? Seems to me that if the NFL was looking to control salaries, the buck would have started there. Not with the QB who gets hurt every year

 

[majrleaged]

Aaaah, the mental conditioning of the Covid Era is apon us......."say whatever you want.....if its popular it doesn't matter if its real or not and there won't be any repercussions". "Don't let facts get in the way of a good story". "Perception rules all".

The thing that continues to piss me off about reporting these days is that you don't have to know anything. We fans don't know....reporters don't know, but everyone says whatever they feel.

You know that started years before covid. Selective outrage.

 

[majrleaged]

Can't it be collusion AND all the other reasons (injury risk, not wanting to give guaranteed contract, not wanting to do the Raven's work for them)?

Not without a conversation with many teams agreeing not to pay his price. If they all just came to the conclusion he aint worth it. Not colusion.

 

[ArkyRamsFan]

If I was an owner I would negotiate with Jackson and if I thought he could elevate my team offer him a contract that worked for me and my salary cap.
If LJ doesn't like it he can go find a better offer from someone else. But to not even try and make a fair market offer or even talk to the guy seems over the top to me.

~ArkyRamsFan~

 

[Haden]

If I was an owner I would negotiate with Jackson and if I thought he could elevate my team offer him a contract that worked for me and my salary cap.
If LJ doesn't like it he can go find a better offer from someone else. But to not even try and make a fair market offer or even talk to the guy seems over the top to me.

~ArkyRamsFan~

????? Ravens offered him a HUGE contract. He turned it down because he wanted every single penny to be fully guaranteed.

 

[ArkyRamsFan]

????? Ravens offered him a HUGE contract. He turned it down because he wanted every single penny to be fully guaranteed.

I fully understand that. So if I'm an owner of a team other than Baltimore I am still considering making him an offer that I APPROVE of.
Lamar is free to accept or reject it and do whatever he wants but he's going to learn that the market sets prices and valuations.
He just might find that Baltimore had the best offer after all.

~ArkyRamsFan~

 

[dieterbrock]

If I was an owner I would negotiate with Jackson and if I thought he could elevate my team offer him a contract that worked for me and my salary cap.
If LJ doesn't like it he can go find a better offer from someone else. But to not even try and make a fair market offer or even talk to the guy seems over the top to me.

~ArkyRamsFan~

He's been tagged for like 12 hours, and he's supposed to be flooded with offers already?
Personally, I think the Ravens f$%ed up here. I think putting the non-exclusive tag on him totally back fired. They essentially set the market price for him at 2 1st round picks. What if a team doesnt have 2 1st round picks?
Strange deal

 

[OnceARam]

This is why you don't ask your mommy to handle your business...

 

[Tumak61]

Ravens would be dumb to do what the Cardinals did. I don't think they are going to the Super Bowl with Jackson anyway.

 

[dieterbrock]

So if the league doesnt act like the Cleveland Browns, then it's surely collusion?

 

[oldnotdead]

I think the teams will begin to insist upon injury and early retirement clauses in all these mega contracts.

I see this as teams telling players, no more fully guaranteed contracts. Also, Jackson was cheap and stupid by acting as his own agent. He got outmaneuvered by the Raven FO.

Both the Browns and Cards are hamstrung for years because of their own stupidity. You had to know that was not going to last.

 

[Neil039]

Who would have thought ACL injuries would cost 200 million in 2023, but here we are if one of these guys gets hurts. Oops, sorry Murray.

 

[Ram Ts]

Sounds like some in the media and NFL want reverse collusion here and force teams to pay Lamar a similarly f-ing ludicrous fully guaranteed contract. Just because someone else is willing to eat crap, doesn’t mean anyone else should follow along. You don’t become a billionaire by following other’s dumb financial decisions.