QB Lamar Jackson was given the non-exclusive franchise tag by the Ravens earlier this year, which basically means the team can match any free agent offers the former MVP may get at that time. Reports began to surface one by one, indicating that he was passed over by many teams. It was strange.
Nobody understood why Jackson was receiving any interest at all.
At the close of the season, after Lamar Jackson’s performance against the San Francisco 49ers, where he finished with 297 yards total and two passing touchdowns while MVP favorite Brock Purdy threw four interceptions, NFL owners are once again being accused of conspiring against Jackson.
Are Owners conspiring against Lamar Jackson ?
Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio claimed that the owners were working together to keep quarterback pay low when they appeared to ban him all at once to prevent him from receiving his fully guaranteed deal.
“But the failure of quarterback-needy teams to not take a second look at Lamar had nothing to do with making a given team more competitive. It had everything to do with advancing ownership’s not-so-subtle collusion when it comes to players, coaches, and pretty much anyone/everyone else on the payroll.”
“…Similar to the shunning of Colin Kaepernick, teams whispered a laundry list of false narratives to reporters, in the hopes of covering up the basic reality that the owners wanted to stop other owners from duplicating or expanding the practice of giving veteran players five-year fully-guaranteed contracts,” he added later.
Deshaun Watson, who was acquired by the Cleveland Browns from the Houston Texans, inked a hefty deal extension that reportedly infuriated NFL owners. He guaranteed to receive $230 million from his pact. They wanted to make sure they put an end to it because they knew other players would start requesting similar arrangements.
Meanwhile, Lamar Jackson gained command of the MVP competition. The 26-year-old is 15th in throwing yards (3,357) and tied for 14th in touchdown passes (19) and completion percentage (66.3).
