Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray, the 2019 No. 1 overall pick and three-year starter in Arizona, recently signed a five-year contract extension worth $160 million guaranteed. It ended a months-long dispute between the quarterback and the franchise, which started on social media and escalated to rumors of a holdout if an agreement was not reached.
As every long-term quarterback contract that’s been completed in recent months has done, Murray’s deal brought Lamar Jackson’s peculiar contract situation into the spotlight.
Murray’s full deal is set to pay him an average of just more than $46 million per year, making him the second-highest paid per season behind only Aaron Rodgers and just above Deshaun Watson. That’s where some say the Jackson negotiations should begin.
But others say Murray’s deal should not set any baseline for Jackson and his future. Randy Mueller, a former general manager of the Saints and Dolphins and now analyst for The Athletic, says recent quarterback contracts like Murray and Watson shouldn’t have any ramifications on Jackson and the Ravens’ negotiations.
“Lamar is such a unique … talent that I’m not sure anybody else’s deal matters,” Mueller said on Glenn Clark Radio July 27.
Jackson’s negotiations, or lack thereof, have been a topic of discussion for months in Baltimore as the 25-year-old enters his fifth season without long-term security. As of now, Jackson is slated to play this season on the fifth-year option, valued just north of $23 million.
Nothing will change, Mueller said, until Jackson forces the issue.
“As soon as there’s a deadline that he can’t cross, if he’s going to risk his future, then I’m probably going to take the deal,” Mueller said.
Watson’s deal was unprecedented in its own right. His $230 million deal was fully guaranteed, something that has never happened in a deal of that magnitude in the NFL.
After it was signed, some began to think this could become the expectation for large quarterback contracts. But with Murray’s deal not being fully guaranteed, Watson is looking more like an outlier than the start of a trend.
“The uniqueness of it still becomes a hurdle for every NFL team, and that’s why most spoke out against it,” Mueller said.
Another contract story is also looming over the early days of Ravens training camp. Second-round outside linebacker David Ojabo has yet to sign a rookie contract, leaving him as the only selection from the 2022 draft to not sign with a team.
Ojabo tore his Achilles tendon at Michigan’s pro day just weeks before April’s draft. The projected first-round pick fell to pick 45, a steep drop-off in salary on a rookie contract.
The holdup in negotiations reportedly stems from a disagreement between Ojabo’s camp and the team on the level of guarantees in Year 3 of the deal.
“I think they’re going to figure it out,” Mueller said.
A fully guaranteed third year for a second-round pick is rare, and the Ravens would hate to be the team that sets this sort of precedent, Mueller said.
“If a team does give in on that, other teams are going to start wiping their brow,” he said. “They just don’t like giving in. They don’t like starting precedent.”
For more from Mueller, listen to the full interview here:
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