The Baltimore Ravens and quarterback Lamar Jackson are seemingly working towards a long-term extension that would make the former University of Louisville star one of the highest-paid players in the NFL. He is currently the face of Baltimore’s franchise with his high level play on the field and his great personality off of it, and it seems like the two parties would like to work together for years to come.
However, despite comments from both the team and from Jackson about their admiration for one another, not everyone is convinced that there won’t be any major hiccups in negotiations. When listing out six players most likely to hold out of NFL training camps, Chris Roling of Bleacher Report had Jackson on his list, putting him at a 4/10 on the “holdout meter”.
“Like [Josh] Allen in Buffalo, Jackson could disrupt Baltimore’s plans if he holds out for an extension. And it’s more interesting here because Jackson might negotiate without an agent.”
Even though Roling put Jackson on his potential holdout list, he also notes that it’s possible that nothing of the sort happens.
“Then again, there’s nothing to suggest Baltimore wants to wait. In fact, that could do more harm than good because other passers like Allen could raise the bar for quarterback extensions—something Jackson is sure to understand.”
Based off of reports and everything that has been said by the respective parties, it seems extremely unlikely that Jackson will hold out in hopes of getting a more favorable deal. The quarterback loves the game of football for multiple reasons, and while he is certainly going to earn every penny of whatever contract he signs next, the game seems to be much more than about the money for him. A holdout doesn’t seem to be in the cards for Jackson, as he’s looking forward to being with his teammates and coaches as they work towards their goal to win a Super Bowl Championship.