Important offseason dates related to Lamar Jackson's contract
BALTIMORE -- The big news ahead of Sunday's Ravens-Jets game was the team and Lamar Jackson could not come to an agreement on a new contract before the star quarterback's Friday deadline.
"Despite best efforts on both sides, we were unable to reach a contract extension with Lamar Jackson," executive vice president and general manager Eric DeCosta said in a statement. "We greatly appreciate how he has handled this process and we are excited about our team with Lamar leading the way. We will continue to work towards a long-term contract after the season, but for now we are looking forward to a successful 2022 campaign."
On Sunday, ESPN's Chris Mortensen reported Jackson rejected a six-year deal that could be worth more than $290 million because only $133 million was fully guaranteed.
Jackson would have had more guaranteed money than two recent signees, the Arizona Cardinals' Kyler Murray and the Denver Broncos' Russell Wilson, but the amount falls short of the fully guaranteed five-year, $230 million contract the Cleveland Browns gave Deshaun Watson, according to Mortensen.
Advisors with the NFL Players Association told Jackson he was "justified" to ask for a fully guaranteed deal given his age and performance, Mortensen reports.
Watson is suspended the first 11 games of the season after more than two dozen women accused him of sexual misconduct.
Entering the fifth and final year of his rookie deal, Jackson is set to make $23 million this season.
In theory, DeCosta and Jackson, who is representing himself instead of hiring an agent, could resume talks at any time. But if, as DeCosta said, negotiations won't resume until the offseason, here are some important dates to know:
Tuesday, Feb. 21
Nine days after the Super Bowl. Starting at 4 p.m., teams can place the franchise tag or transition tag on players. More on those later.
Tuesday, March 7
The last day for clubs to designate franchise and transition players.
March 13-15
Starting at noon on that Monday, teams have a window to negotiate with the agents of players who are set to become unrestricted free agents. In the highly unlikely scenario where the Ravens don't tag their quarterback or sign him to a new contract, Jackson would technically qualify.
"[A] prospective UFA who is not represented by an NFLPA Certified Contract Advisor is permitted to communicate directly with a new club's front office officials (excluding the Head Coach and other members of the club's coaching staff) regarding contract negotiations," according to the NFL.
The negotiating window closes one second before 4 p.m. on Wednesday, March 15.
At 4 p.m., the new league year starts and the free agency period begins. Prior to that 4 p.m. mark, teams must submit qualifying offers to restricted free agents, players with three accrued seasons experience whose contracts are expiring.
More on tags
Each team can only use one tag a year, according to the league. And a player can be tagged three times.
Here are the types:
-Non-exclusive franchise tag: Worth the average of the top five salaries at a position over the last five years, or 120 percent of the player's previous salary, whichever is greater, according to NFL.com. A player has the right to negotiate with other teams, and his current team can match that deal or refuse it and receive two first-round picks.
-Exclusive franchise tag: Worth the average of the top five salaries at a position in the current year, and players who receive the tag cannot negotiate with other teams.
-Transition tag: Worth the average of the top 10 salaries at a position. But players can still negotiate with other teams. A player's current team has the right of first refusal to match any contract offer, but it does not receive compensation for letting the player sign elsewhere.
So how much would that cost?
In 2022, the non-exclusive tag for a quarterback is $29.703 million, and the transition tag is $27.186 million, per NFL.com. But those figures are sure to go up given the massive deals handed out to the likes of Watson, Murray, Wilson and Aaron Rodgers.
And that makes the exclusive tag for a quarterback -- the only designation to fully guarantee Jackson remains in purple and black -- incredibly expensive, since the figure only accounts for the current year. The top 5 highest paid players in the league are all quarterbacks, and their contracts would put the exclusive franchise tag in the neighborhood of $45 million.
Can the Ravens tag Jackson again in 2023?
Yes, and technically the next year after that. But it becomes more expensive. The team would have to offer him 120% of the tag in 2023 and 144% in 2024.
