Richard Sherman has added two more to the list of people who could be responsible for Lamar Jackson’s contract dilemma — but they have nothing to do with a franchise’s front office.
In an episode of “The Richard Sherman Podcast” with former Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson, Sherman blamed Chiefs star and MVP Patrick Mahomes and Bills quarterback Josh Allen for redirecting the precedent for quarterbacks to receive fully guaranteed contracts.
“What pissed me off is when Kirk Cousins got his fully guaranteed deal, I thought the quarterbacks from there would be like, ‘If it’s not guaranteed, I’m not going to take it,'” Sherman said. “Afterward [Patrick] Mahomes got that BS deal — just 10 years and he wanted it to look like half [billion]. But if you get half of that, fully guaranteed, everyone is happy. This sets a precedent.
“But when [Mahomes] he didn’t set it up, then Josh Allen didn’t set it up, now Lamar didn’t set it up [Jackson]He tries to put it after Deshaun [Watson]has already set it up. And it’s like, ‘Nah.'”
It’s been a strange offseason for Jackson, the 26-year-old who won the NFL MVP award in 2019 as a second baseman.
The Ravens applied the non-exclusive franchise tag to Jackson before the March 7 deadline, which meant other teams could trade Jackson and Baltimore would have the opportunity to match any offer sheet — receiving compensation if he ultimately leaves.
But instead of teams competing for Jackson, negotiations have stalled.
Instead of teams publicly saying they were interested in Jackson, the popular trend was to communicate otherwise.
And instead of a long-term contract being solidified, Jackson’s NFL future remains unknown.
Kirk Cousins became the first NFL quarterback to sign a fully guaranteed deal when he agreed to a three-year, $84 million deal with the Vikings, and DeShaun Watson signed a five-year, $230 million extension with the Browns after being acquired. in March 2022, this is fully guaranteed.
But the deals negotiated in between — Mahomes and his 10-year contract with the Chiefs, Allen and his six-year extension with the Bills — have steered the discussion of fully guaranteed contracts away from the attention Sherman thinks it deserves.
Jackson also received support from NFL Players Association executive chairman DeMaurice Smith earlier this month when he blasted NFL owners and their reluctance to guaranteed contracts in a post on the NFLPA website — noting that owners prefer to avoid these kinds of deals because “they’re better for the players than they are for the owners.”
“A fully guaranteed contract in Jackson’s case means all quarterbacks with expiring rookie contracts will (and should anyway) claim them next cycle,” Smith wrote in his post. “Make no mistake, what’s happening now is their attempt to block the same cycle that has led to fully guaranteed contracts in other sports and is exactly what we’re seeing in the NFL after Cousins and Watson’s contracts.”
Smith also noted that a resolution to Jackson’s situation will be important to keep track of with other young quarterbacks approaching extensions where they could benefit from fully guaranteed deals.
Sherman, however, said he would be upset if those quarterbacks — especially Joe Burrow — are treated differently by owners around the league than Jackson.
“When Barrow comes and asks for the exact same thing, and the same people who are mad about Lamar aren’t mad, I’m going to be mad,” Sherman said.
