Jackson gets nonexclusive franchise 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.
The deadline to apply the franchise tag was 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.”
The Ravens would have a chance to match any agreement between Jackson and another team, and if they chose not to match, they'd receive two first-round draft picks in return. If Jackson plays this season on the franchise tag, he'd make $32.4 million.
Baltimore could have prevented Jackson from negotiating with anyone else by using the exclusiverights franchise tag, but that could have cost significantly
more.
The Dallas Cowboys used the exclusive franchise tag on quarterback Dak Prescott in 2020. A year later, they reached a long-term deal with him. Kirk Cousins is another quarterback who played on the franchise tag fairly recently. He did it his final two seasons in Washington before joining the Minnesota Vikings in 2018.
So now the saga between Jackson and the Ravens enters
its next phase. Josh Allen, the other star quarterback drafted in 2018 with Jackson, signed a longterm deal with Buffalo two offseasons ago. Jackson, on the other hand, entered last season still without an extension. His contract status didn't seem too disruptive last offseason — he participated in mandatory minicamp and training camp — but there's no telling how the next few months will go.