Lamar Jackson gets nonexclusive tag from Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens announced Tuesday that they were designating Lamar Jackson as their franchise player, preventing him from becoming an unrestricted free agent this month after the expiration of his rookie contract.
A person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press that Jackson was receiving the nonexclusive version of the franchise tag. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because that detail hadn’t been announced.
The deadline to apply the franchise tag is 4 p.m. Eastern. The Ravens were always expected to use the tag if they didn’t reach a long-term deal with Jackson first. The team and its star quarterback can continue negotiating now, although the nonexclusive tag means he can negotiate with other teams, too.
“There have been many instances across the league and in Baltimore when a player has been designated with the franchise tag and signed a long-term deal that same year,” general manager Eric DeCosta said in a statement. “We will continue to negotiate in good faith with Lamar, and we are hopeful that we can strike a long-term deal that is fair to both Lamar and the Ravens. Our ultimate goal is to build a championship team with Lamar Jackson leading the way for many years to come.”
AP SOURCE: CHIEFS SENDING BROWN, CLARK INTO FREE
AGENCY >> The Kansas City Chiefs are about to have two big holes to fill, along with plenty of salary cap space to do it, as they enter free agency and begin putting together a roster for the defense of their Super Bowl title.
The Chiefs plan to decline using the franchise tag for the second time on left tackle Orlando Brown Jr., and they will release pass rusher Frank Clark, a person familiar with the decisions told The Associated Press on Tuesday.
The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because neither of the moves has been officially made.
FALCONS RE-SIGN OUTSIDE
LINEBACKER CARTER TO 2-YEAR DEAL >> Outside linebacker Lorenzo Carter, who was second on the team with four sacks in 2022, will remain with the Atlanta Falcons on a two-year deal, the team announced Tuesday.
Carter started all 17 games last season and set a career high with 58 tackles. He had 12 quarterbacks hits, six tackles for losses, a fumble recovery and an interception returned for a touchdown.
Carter (6-5, 255), who grew up in the Atlanta suburbs, was selected by the New York Giants in the third round of the 2018 draft after playing at the University of Georgia. He signed a one-year deal with the Falcons last year following four years with the Giants.
College basketball WAKE FOREST’S
APPLEBY IS
2ND STRAIGHT ACC AP PLAYER OF YEAR >> Wake Forest guard Tyree Appleby is The Associated Press men’s basketball player of the year in the Atlantic Coast Conference,
the second straight season a Demon Deacons player took the honor after Alondes Williams earned it a year ago.
Pitt coach Jeff Capel was named coach of the year and Duke freshman Kyle Filipowski was named newcomer of the year in voting released Tuesday. KANSAS STAR JALEN WILSON
NAMED AP BIG 12 PLAYER OF THE YEAR >> Big 12 scoring and rebounding leader Jalen Wilson of Kansas is the unanimous pick as The Associated Press Big 12 player of the year.
Kansas State senior forward Keyontae Johnson joined Wilson as the only unanimous first-team picks in the selections revealed Tuesday. Johnson, a transfer from Florida who has turned into a top player after a frightening collapse more than two years ago, was also selected as newcomer of the year in voting by a panel of 17 journalists who cover the league.
First-year Kansas State coach Jerome Tang was voted as coach of the year. After 19 seasons as an assistant for coach Scott Drew at Baylor, including the national championship two years ago, Tang directed the Wildcats to a 23-8 record in the regular season and third place in the Big 12 standings after being picked to finish last in a preseason poll of league coaches.
ALABAMA’S BRANDON
MILLER SEC PLAYER, NEWCOMER OF YEAR >> Alabama freshman Brandon Miller, whose tremendous season on the court has been clouded by controversy off it, is The Associated Press player of the year and newcomer of the year in the Southeastern Conference.
Texas A&M’s Buzz Williams was named coach of the year on Tuesday in voting by 14 reporters who cover the SEC.
Texas A&M guard Wade Taylor IV and Kentucky forward Oscar Tshiebwe, last year’s national player of the year, were unanimous firstteam picks. The other firstteam selections are Missouri guard/forward Kobe Brown and Mississippi State forward Tolu Smith. MARQUETTE’S KOLEK,
SMART COLLECT AP’S TOP HONORS IN BIG EAST >> Marquette’s Tyler Kolek is the Associated Press Big East player of the year and Shaka Smart is the unanimous pick for coach of the year after the two led the Golden Eagles’ surprising run to their first regular-season championship in 10 years.
Xavier’s Souley Boum was voted newcomer of the year in balloting by 11 writers and broadcasters who cover the conference.
Kolek and Smart led No. 6 Marquette to a school-record 17 conference wins and its highest national ranking since 1978.
UCLA’S JACQUEZ JR., CRONIN
HIGHLIGHT AP ALL-PAC 12 TEAM >> Jaime Jaquez Jr.’s decision to return for his senior season worked out quite well for No. 2 UCLA.
Jaquez was named The Associated Press player of the year in the Pac-12 on Tuesday and Bruins coach Mick Cronin is the conference coach of the year. Washington forward Keion Brooks was named Pac-12 newcomer of the year by an eight-person panel of journalists who cover the conference.
Jaquez considered leaving Westwood for the NBA after three productive seasons that included a trip the Final Four and the Sweet 16 in consecutive years. The crafty 6-foot-7 swing man had another boxscore-stuffing season in his return, averaging 17.5 points, 8.0 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game while helping lead the Bruins to their first Pac-12 regular-season title in a decade.
EDEY IS AP BIG TEN PLAYER OF YEAR >> Purdue’s Zach Edey is The Associated Press player of the year in the Big Ten Conference and the Boilermakers’ Matt Painter and Northwestern’s Chris Collins split coach of the year honors.
Edey received all but one vote for player of the year in balloting by 14 journalists who cover the conference. Maryland’s Jahmir Young beat out Indiana’s Jalen Hood-Schifino for newcomer of the year.
Tennis WOMEN’S TENNIS TOUR IN
COMMERCIAL WITH CVC >> The women’s professional tennis tour launched a commercial enterprise with CVC Capital Partners on Tuesday to increase revenues for the sport, with the investment manager contributing $150 million for a 20% stake in what will be known as WTA Ventures LLC.
“Obviously, the ambition is to materially grow women’s professional tennis. Grow our profile, its value, the prize money,” WTA Chairman and CEO Steve Simon said. “This arrangement is certainly going
PARTNERSHIP
to provide for us to create more investment opportunity to our players and our tournaments.”
He said the new entity is completely separate from St. Petersburg, Florida-based WTA Inc., which oversees the tour itself, and will manage all of the sport’s commercial activities, including rights for broadcast, data, gaming, sponsorship, licensing and NFTs.
Soccer
MLS PUSHING FOR TEMPORARY
SUBSTITUTES FOR HEAD INJURIES >> Major League Soccer will keep on pushing the sport’s international rules-makers to allow a trial of temporary substitutes for players suspected of concussions.
The International Football Association Board, which decides rules, said Saturday that it will continue with trials of permanent substitutions for players suspected of head injuries. MLS and England’s Premier League proposed having injured players be assessed for a longer period and have the potential to rejoin the match.
“We strongly believe in the benefits of conducting the trial and welcome the opportunity to share the data and learnings from such a trial with the global soccer community,” MLS said in a statement Tuesday. “The proposed temporary concussion substitution protocol was developed with MLS’s medical advisers and would allow club medical professionals to conduct a structured off-field evaluation of players suspected of sustaining a concussion.”