Lamar Jackson’s Greatest Play: A Contract Without an Agent
Jackson is leading his own negotiation for a contract extension with the Ravens, challenging the norms of executives’ relationships to N.F.L. players and raising questions about the efficacy of agents.
By any argument, Ravens starting quarterback Lamar Jackson has had an exceptional career, actually a GREAT CAREER, through his first three N.F.L. seasons.
Drafted at the end of the first round in 2018, he quickly emerged as one of the league’s most dynamic players, winning six of his first seven regular-season starts in his first year and the Most Valuable Player Award in his second. At 24, he is a face of the league and the undisputed centerpiece of the Ravens’ future.
Those are among the facts that will undoubtedly be brought up as Jackson and Baltimore executives negotiate an extension of his rookie contract, the massive payday that is usually the largest salary bump in an N.F.L. player’s career and that will determine the market for other franchise quarterbacks nearing the end of their entry-level deals.
His peers have already set the table. Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott in March signed a four-year, $160 million contract extension (with $126 million in total guaranteed money). In August, Bills quarterback Josh Allen received a six-year, $258 million deal (with $150 million in total guaranteed money).
But as Jackson haggles with his team over the size and conditions of a new deal, he stands out for handling the matter on his own, one of 17 N.F.L. players not represented by a traditional sports agent. Instead, Jackson has enlisted advisers, including his mother, Felicia Jones, to work out the clauses, exceptions and trade-offs.
They have offered little insight into the process. He could follow the trend and ask for a four-year deal to increase his flexibility, or he could try to secure a longer and larger contract as Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes and Allen did.
Jones did not respond to a request for comment.
By proceeding without traditional representation, Jackson is challenging football orthodoxy, partly promoted by agents, that players can’t possibly understand complex contracts or negotiate one successfully. At the same time, Ravens team executives — who declined to speak for this article — can’t limit their relationship to only talking to Jackson about his labor. They also must tell him what they think his labor is worth.
“The agents have told the whole world that the players can’t do anything without them,” said Russell Okung, who began representing himself halfway through his 12-year N.F.L. career as an offensive lineman. “By Lamar going out on his own, it’s scary to the agent world. If he figures it out, others will too.”
The challenges stretch beyond dollar signs. “He’s also a Black quarterback and people are used to labor looking a certain way,” Okung added. “He’s pushing up against a myriad of narratives all at once.”
Image
For years, players have complained that agents don’t do enough to earn their fees, which can run as high as 3 percent of a contract’s value. Saving hundreds of thousands of dollars is largely what motivated Richard Sherman, Okung, DeAndre Hopkins and others in recent years to negotiate their own deals, some of which were panned in the news media.
While those players ditched their agents midcareer, Jackson has gone without an agent from the outset.
Under the league’s peculiar economics, that’s understandable because rookie pay scales are tightly prescribed, leaving little room for negotiation. Teams operate under rigid salary caps, and often pick up the fifth-year option in star players’ contracts to keep them at a cheaper figure for an additional year before they become free agents, or in the Ravens’ case with Jackson, to allow for more time to negotiate an extension.
Teams can also slap a “franchise tag” on players — a one-year designation of either the average salary of the top five players at the same position (over the past five seasons) or 120 percent of the player’s previous salary — to refrain from paying what the market will bear. To hang on to their star quarterbacks, whose salaries are growing far faster than those of players at other positions, teams can also fill the rest of their rosters with rookies and free agents willing to play for minimum salaries.
Jackson’s decision to forgo traditional representation is inviting more scrutiny than other stars’ negotiations because he is in line for a mammoth contract extension that will help set the future market for franchise quarterbacks. Deciphering N.F.L. contracts is complicated because teams can include a host of clauses that when triggered can cost the player dearly. Getting injured away from the field might allow a team to withhold payment. So might an arrest, suspension or an unexcused absence from the club.
A player’s yearly salary can be relatively small compared with signing bonuses, payments for making a team’s roster, payments for appearing at voluntary training camps and hitting performance targets like leading a statistical category.
Top-tier quarterbacks like Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers have in recent negotiations prevented their teams from assigning them franchise tags. The tag would have kept Brady from hitting the open market after the 2019 season, his last with the Patriots. The reworked contract Rodgers signed in July prevents the Packers from assigning him the franchise tag after the 2022 season, when he is eligible to become a free agent.
In 2018, Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins negotiated through an agent to reach a rare contract that was 100 percent guaranteed, like those in Major League Baseball and the N.B.A. The percentage of guaranteed money in N.F.L. contracts is increasing, but for most players it is below 70 percent, which makes it easier for teams to justify cutting players.
Agents argue that part of their role is to steer players away from deals that give teams too much leverage.
“There are so many different ways to not get your money in the N.F.L.,” said Joby Branion, who runs Vanguard Sports Group, an agency that represents 36 N.F.L. players, including Von Miller of the Denver Broncos and Keenan Allen of the Los Angeles Chargers. “The best agents are going to understand that the most important part of any negotiation is leverage. Guarantees in the N.F.L. are not guarantees like in other sports.”
Agents also pay for top prospects to train for the combine and talk up their draft value with general managers. Once they join a team, agents help players find marketing opportunities and keep track of their needs during the season.
“It’s not just doing negotiating the contract and washing your hands of the player,” said Kim Miale, an N.F.L. agent who leads the football division at Roc Nation Sports, which represents Giants running back Saquon Barkley, Buccaneers running back Leonard Fournette and others.
Still, some players do many of these things themselves. Seahawks linebacker Bobby Wagner said he negotiated a three-year, $54 million extension in 2019 not just to avoid paying his agent, but to become a smarter businessman. He read the league’s collective bargaining agreement, studied other player contracts and sought advice from corporate executives, team owners and even Michael Jordan.
During the process, he was aware of how unusual a path he was taking.
“There were a lot of people that felt players were not able to negotiate their contracts successfully, so I knew once I committed to doing it, I had to do it right because I knew there was a lot of eyeballs that wanted me not to succeed,” Wagner said.
Image
The union does not push players either way on hiring agents. But it provides players who represent themselves access to its database of contracts and reviews any proposed contract language, just as it does for agents. Since 2016, the union has required agents to send all contracts that average $2 million or more a year to the union’s lawyers for review to ensure that agents are sufficiently protecting their clients.
“The union-agent relationship is complicated and sometimes adversarial,” said George Atallah, the spokesman for the N.F.L. Players Association. “But when it comes to representing players, we haven’t changed our model of providing services to the agents.”
Though just 17 players currently represent themselves, according to the N.F.L.P.A., but that may change in the coming years as college athletes, now allowed to earn money off their names, images and likenesses before turning pro, become better educated about their value and how others profit from it.
“With name, image and likeness rules, you’re going to have more young people recognizing their worth,” said Charles Grantham, the director of the Center for Sport Management at Seton Hall and a former N.B.A. agent and union executive. Agents may be forced to cut their fees to secure players, he added. “It’s definitely going to change the economics of the business.”
Over time, Grantham and others said, the younger generation’s awareness could lead them to take the same leap as Jackson.
“A lot of it is players waking up to realizing the power that they have and how they can execute if they educate themselves the way that they should,” Wagner said. “It’s all part of a bigger picture of players becoming more aware of their potential outside of the sport that they play.”
Lamar Jackson
 Jackson with the Baltimore Ravens in 2020
|
|||||||||||||
| No. 8 – Baltimore Ravens | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Quarterback | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
| Born: | January 7, 1997 Pompano Beach, Florida |
||||||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||||||
| Weight: | 212 lb (96 kg) | ||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||
| High school: | Boynton Beach Community (Boynton Beach, Florida) | ||||||||||||
| College: | Louisville (2015–2017) | ||||||||||||
| NFL Draft: | 2018 / Round: 1 / Pick: 32 | ||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||
| Roster status: | Active | ||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||
| Career NFL statistics as of Week 3, 2021 | |||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||
| Player stats at NFL.com · PFR | |||||||||||||
Lamar Demeatrice Jackson Jr. (born January 7, 1997) is an American football quarterback for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). While playing college football at Louisville, he won the Heisman Trophy, Maxwell Award, Walter Camp Award, and was unanimously selected as an All-American during his sophomore year in 2016.
Jackson was the 32nd pick in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft when he was selected by the Ravens on their final pick. He began his rookie season as a backup, but became the team’s starting quarterback following an injury to starter Joe Flacco. Jackson helped the team clinch the AFC North division title and became the youngest quarterback to start a playoff game. In 2019, his first full season as starter, Jackson set a record for the most rushing yards in a season by a quarterback, led the league with 36 touchdown passes, and became the second unanimous NFL Most Valuable Player winner in league history. He was the fourth African-American quarterback to win the award. In 2020, he became the first quarterback to rush for 1,000 yards in a season more than once.
Early years
Jackson was born to Felicia Jones and Lamar Jackson, Sr. on January 7, 1997, and grew up in the center of an economically distressed section of Pompano Beach, Florida. Jackson’s father died from a heart attack on the same day his grandmother died in 2005 when Jackson was 8 years old. His siblings and he were raised by their mother. He attended public schools and played Pop Warner football in the same Florida league with Ravens wide receiver Marquise Brown. Jackson played neighborhood football with Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Calvin Ridley. As a child, Jackson’s favorite player was Michael Vick. When he was 8 years old, Jackson could throw a football 20 yards. In high school, Jackson threw a football 100 yards.
High school career
| External video | |
|---|---|
 |
Jackson was a standout quarterback at Boynton Beach High School in Boynton Beach, Florida.
At Boynton Beach, Jackson was a successful read-option quarterback who could run and throw the ball equally well. He improved passing accuracy and decision-making by watching hours of film each week. In two years at Boynton Beach, Jackson threw for 2,263 yards and 31 touchdowns with nine interceptions. He ran for 1,624 yards and 22 touchdowns, and had a quarterback rating of 102.7. Jackson’s last high school game came against a nationally ranked Miami Central High School team during the first round of the 2014 Florida High School Football Playoff 6A tournament. Boynton Beach was soundly defeated 49–6, with Jackson throwing two interceptions. He also competed for his high school track team, posting a personal record of 11.45 seconds in the 100 meter dash in one track meet. Jackson was named the Lou Groza Palm Beach County High School Player of the Year in 2014.
Recruiting
Despite some disagreement by recruiting companies over his caliber (Jackson was rated three stars by ESPN.com and 247Sports, but four stars by Rivals.com), he received offers from both Power Five schools like Louisville, Florida, Auburn, and Clemson, and mid-major programs like Akron, Western Kentucky, and Marshall. All of the major recruiting companies listed Jackson as a top 20 dual-threat quarterback, with 247Sports ranking him as high as #12. Jackson’s in-state ranking also varied greatly, from as high as #51 from Rivals to as low as #80 by ESPN. Jackson visited only four schools (Louisville, Florida, Nebraska, and Mississippi State), and after appearing that he might sign with Florida, Jackson ultimately committed to the University of Louisville after head coach Bobby Petrino promised Jackson’s mother that her son would be playing quarterback and nothing else.
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lamar Jackson QB |
Boynton Beach, FL | Boynton Beach Community (FL) | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Aug 30, 2014 | |
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals:  |
||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: 409 ESPN: N/A | ||||||
Sources:
|
||||||
| Season | Games | Passing | Rushing | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Comp | Att | Pct | Yards | TD | Int | Rate | Att | Yards | Avg | TD | |
| 2013 | 9 | 9 | 70 | 163 | 42.9 | 1,264 | 19 | 6 | 93.7 | 102 | 960 | 9.4 | 10 |
| 2014 | 7 | 7 | 53 | 98 | 54.1 | 999 | 12 | 3 | 116.5 | 90 | 664 | 7.4 | 12 |
| Career | 16 | 16 | 123 | 261 | 47.1 | 2,263 | 31 | 9 | 102.7 | 192 | 1,624 | 8.5 | 22 |
College career
Freshman year
As a freshman at Louisville in 2015, Jackson played in 12 games and made eight starts. He completed 135-of-247 passes for 1,840 yards with 12 touchdowns and eight interceptions and ran for 960 yards and 11 rushing touchdowns. He was named the MVP of the 2015 Music City Bowl after passing for 227 yards with two touchdowns and rushing for a Music City Bowl-record 226 yards and two touchdowns.
Sophomore year
During the first game of his sophomore year, against the Charlotte 49ers, Jackson set a school record for total touchdowns with eight, all of them in the first half. Against Syracuse, Jackson completed 20 of 39 passes for 411 yards, one touchdown, and one interception, with 199 rushing yards and 4 rushing touchdowns, with all five touchdowns coming in the first half as the Cardinals routed the Orange 62–28. One of those touchdowns came when he hurdled over a Syracuse defender into the end zone.
Against #2 Florida State, Jackson completed 13 of 20 passes for 216 yards, threw one touchdown and one interception, and had 146 rushing yards and 4 rushing touchdowns. He scored 4 of the 5 total touchdowns in the first half in a 63-20 route of the Seminoles, the most points that the Seminoles had ever surrendered at the time. The game made Jackson the Heisman front runner, and gave the Cardinals a No. 3 ranking, their highest since 2006. Against Marshall, Jackson completed 24 of 44 passes for 417 yards and 5 touchdowns, and had 62 rushing yards and 2 rushing touchdowns. Against No. 5 Clemson, Louisville’s offense totaled 586 yards, with Jackson accounting for 295 passing yards, 162 rushing yards, and three total touchdowns (1 passing, 2 rushing). The Cardinals eventually lost the game 42–36. On December 8, Jackson was awarded the Walter Camp Award as the player of the year and the Maxwell Award as the best all-around player in college football.
| External video | |
|---|---|
|
On December 10, 2016, Jackson was selected as the 2016 Heisman Trophy winner over fellow finalists Deshaun Watson, Dede Westbrook, Jabrill Peppers, and Baker Mayfield. He became Louisville’s first Heisman Trophy winner in school history, and the youngest-ever recipient of the award at the age of 19 years and 337 days.
Aside from nationally recognized awards, Jackson also won prestigious awards within the University of Louisville. In 2017, Jackson won a Louie for being named the Adidas High Performance Male Athlete of the Year for his outstanding sophomore campaign. He also won a Louie for Play of the Year after the leap he made in the 2016 Syracuse game.
Junior year
When Jackson entered the 2017 season, his fan base and media had high expectations of his performance. College GameDay announced their return to the University of Louisville to host the opening matchup on September 16 between the returning National Champions, Clemson Tigers, and the Cardinals. Despite the 47–21 blowout the Tigers achieved, Jackson did not let the numbers affect his playing ability. His remarkable statistics for the season resulted in his being a Heisman finalist for the 2017 season. He finished in third place in the Heisman voting, losing out to Baker Mayfield and Bryce Love. Jackson played in 13 games, finishing with 3,660 passing yards, 27 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions.
Following the 2017–18 school year, Jackson was named the men’s ACC Athlete of the Year for all conference sports, sharing honors with women’s winner Arike Ogunbowale of Notre Dame basketball.
Collegiate statistics
| Season | Games | Passing | Rushing | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Comp | Att | Pct | Yards | TD | Int | Rate | Att | Yards | Avg | TD | |
| 2015 | 12 | 8 | 135 | 247 | 54.7 | 1,840 | 12 | 8 | 126.8 | 163 | 960 | 5.9 | 11 |
| 2016 | 13 | 13 | 230 | 409 | 56.2 | 3,543 | 30 | 9 | 148.8 | 260 | 1,571 | 6.0 | 21 |
| 2017 | 13 | 13 | 254 | 430 | 59.1 | 3,660 | 27 | 10 | 146.6 | 232 | 1,601 | 6.9 | 18 |
| Career[5] | 38 | 34 | 619 | 1,086 | 57.0 | 9,043 | 69 | 27 | 142.9 | 655 | 4,132 | 6.3 | 50 |
Professional career
On January 5, 2018, Jackson announced that he would enter the 2018 NFL Draft. Some draft pundits doubted Jackson’s quarterback abilities and suggested that he switch positions due to his athleticism, but he remained adamant about his intention to play quarterback professionally. He declined to run drills such as the 40-yard dash during the NFL Scouting Combine, in order to focus on displaying his passing skills.
| External video | |
|---|---|
|
|
|
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand size | Wonderlic | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 2+1⁄4 in (1.89 m) |
216 lb (98 kg) |
33+1⁄8 in (0.84 m) |
9+1⁄2 in (0.24 m) |
13 | ||||||||
| All values from NFL Draft[41][42] | ||||||||||||
Jackson was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the first round with the 32nd overall pick in the draft; they traded up for the selection with the Philadelphia Eagles. He was the fifth quarterback selected that year. On June 5, 2018, Jackson signed his rookie contract, reportedly worth $9.47 million with a $4.97 million signing bonus.
2018 season
Jackson made his NFL debut relieving starting quarterback Joe Flacco in the second half of a 47–3 victory against the Buffalo Bills, finishing with 24 passing yards and 39 rushing yards. During Week 7, Jackson scored his first NFL touchdown on a 1-yard run as the Ravens narrowly lost to the New Orleans Saints by a score of 24–23. Jackson threw his first NFL touchdown pass, a 26-yard completion to fellow rookie tight end Hayden Hurst, the next week in relief of Flacco in the fourth quarter of a 36–21 loss to the Carolina Panthers.
On November 18, 2018, Jackson made his first NFL start against the Cincinnati Bengals in place of the injured Joe Flacco, who injured his hip two weeks prior against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Jackson went 13 for 19 for 150 yards and an interception and rushed for 117 yards, which was a Ravens franchise record for rushing yards by a quarterback in a single game in a 24–21 victory. The following week against the Oakland Raiders, Jackson threw for 178 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions. He also rushed for 71 yards and a rushing touchdown. The Ravens won by a score of 34–17. During Week 13 against the Atlanta Falcons, Jackson passed for 125 yards and rushed for 75 yards and a touchdown in a 26–16 victory. In a Week 14 27–24 overtime loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, Jackson threw two touchdowns for the first time in his career.
Jackson helped the Ravens defeat the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 16, completing 12 of 22 passes for 204 yards and a touchdown in a 22–10 upset victory. The following week against fellow rookie quarterback Baker Mayfield and the Cleveland Browns, Jackson passed for 179 yards and rushed for two touchdowns on 95 rushing yards, despite fumbling a third potential touchdown at the goal line, as the Ravens beat the Browns 26–24 to clinch the AFC North title. In the seven regular season games in which Jackson had started, the Ravens went 6–1 to close out the 2018 season. Overall, he finished with 1,201 passing yards, six passing touchdowns, and three interceptions. In addition, he led all quarterbacks with 695 rushing yards and added five rushing touchdowns.
Postseason
Jackson became the youngest quarterback to ever start a playoff game when the Ravens faced off at home against the Chargers in a rematch during the Wild Card Round of the playoffs. Despite being held to just 25 passing yards at one point in the fourth quarter by a stout Chargers defense, Jackson then passed for two touchdowns in four minutes to bring the Ravens back from a 20-point deficit to within a touchdown. After forcing the Chargers to punt with less than a minute left, the Ravens had one last chance to win the game down six points, but Jackson was strip-sacked by Chargers linebacker Uchenna Nwosu. With the Chargers recovering the ball, the Ravens lost 23–17 and were knocked out of the playoffs. He finished the game completing 14 of 29 passes for 194 yards, the two aforementioned touchdowns, and an interception while rushing for 54 yards, losing one fumble.
Once the 2018 season was over, the Ravens’s coaching staff decided to abandon the offensive strategy that had been designed for Joe Flacco and create a new offensive philosophy centered around the specific skills of Jackson. That philosophy included changing every play in the playbook, the terminology used and drafting players or acquiring free agents that would complement Jackson’s skills.
2019 season: Unanimous NFL MVP
In the season-opener against the Miami Dolphins, Jackson went 17 of 20 for career-high 324 yards and five touchdowns, making him the youngest quarterback to achieve a perfect passer rating in the 59–10 road victory. He was named AFC Offensive Player of the Week due to his performance. During Week 2 against the Arizona Cardinals, Jackson rushed for 120 yards and threw for 272 yards and two touchdowns, as the Ravens won by a score of 23–17. His two touchdown passes set the Ravens’ franchise record for the most touchdown passes in the team’s first two games of a season. Jackson became the first player in NFL history to pass for more than 250 yards and rush for 120 yards in one game.
During Week 6 against the Cincinnati Bengals, Jackson finished with 236 passing yards, 152 rushing yards, and a rushing touchdown as the Ravens won 23–17. He also became the first player in NFL history to pass for more than 200 yards and rush for 150 yards in a regular-season game, and had more rushing yards than any player at any position in Week 6. During Week 7 against the Seattle Seahawks, Jackson finished with 143 passing yards and 116 rushing yards with a rushing touchdown as the Ravens won 30–16. After a Week 8 bye, the Ravens faced the unbeaten New England Patriots. In that game, Jackson threw for 163 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 61 yards and two touchdowns in the 37–20 victory. For his performance, Jackson earned his second AFC Offensive Player of the Week award.
In the next game, the Ravens routed the Bengals 49–13 with Jackson throwing for 223 yards and three touchdowns and rushing for 65 yards and a touchdown, finishing with a perfect passer rating. He became only the second player in NFL history to produce two perfect passer ratings in the same season. Jackson joined Aaron Rodgers (2019) and Joe Montana (1989) as the only players in the Super Bowl era with 15-plus completions, 3-plus passing touchdowns, 1-plus rushing touchdowns, and a perfect passer rating in a single game. Jackson also earned his third total, and second consecutive, AFC Offensive Player of the Week award, matching his predecessor Joe Flacco‘s career total.
During Week 11 against the Houston Texans, Jackson became the first quarterback in franchise history to throw four or more touchdowns in a game multiple times during the regular season after he threw for 222 yards and four touchdowns in a 41–7 victory. Jackson also rushed for 86 yards during the victory over the Texans making him the only quarterback in NFL history to rush for more than 60 yards in seven consecutive games. In the next game against the Los Angeles Rams, Jackson threw for 169 yards and five touchdowns in the 45–6 road victory, making him the first player with that many touchdowns in a Monday Night Football debut and the youngest player with multiple five touchdown passing games in NFL history. He earned his fourth AFC Offensive Player of the Week award due to his performance. He was named the AFC‘s Player of the Month for November. In the next game against the San Francisco 49ers, Jackson finished with 105 passing yards, 101 rushing yards, and two total touchdowns as the Ravens won 20–17, and Jackson became the first quarterback in NFL history with four 100-yard rushing games in a season. In Week 14, in the 24–17 victory over the Buffalo Bills, Jackson became the first quarterback since Michael Vick to rush for 1,000 yards in a single season.
In a nationally televised Thursday Night Football game against the New York Jets in Week 15, Jackson had 212 passing yards for five touchdowns, and eight rushes for 86 yards during the 42–21 win, breaking Vick’s single-season rushing record for a quarterback. His five passing touchdowns in the game made him the sixth player since the merger to have three games with at least five passing touchdowns in a season, and tied the Ravens franchise season record with 33. After his performance against the Jets, Jackson was named AFC Player of the Week for week 15. In Week 16 against the Cleveland Browns, Jackson was held to 38 passing yards and a lost fumble in the first 28 minutes, before exploding for 142 yards and two touchdowns in the last two minutes before halftime. He added a third touchdown pass in the second half of the 31–15 win, setting the Ravens single season record for touchdown passes at 36, finishing with 238 passing yards and 103 rushing yards. On the day after the Ravens’ victory over the Browns, and due to the Ravens’ having clinched home-field advantage, head coach John Harbaugh announced that Jackson, guard Marshal Yanda, safety Earl Thomas and defensive tackle Brandon Williams would be inactive for the Week 17 game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Even without playing in the Ravens’ final game, Jackson led all quarterbacks with 36 touchdown passes and a QBR of 81.10; he also led all rushers with a 6.9 yards per carry average. During the 2019 season he was also first with 43 total touchdowns and a 9.0 passing touchdown percentage.
Postseason
In the Divisional Round versus the Tennessee Titans, Jackson and the Ravens were not able to recreate the same success that they had in the regular season, losing 28–12. Jackson finished the game completing 31 of 59 passes for 365 yards, 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions while also losing a fumble on a strip sack. He also rushed 20 times for 143 yards becoming the first player to throw for 300+ yards and rush for 100+ yards in a playoff game. In total, Jackson personally accounted for over 500 yards of offense.
Jackson was the starting quarterback at the 2020 Pro Bowl in Orlando, Florida. He threw for 185 yards and two touchdowns with one interception and was named the offensive Most Valuable Player. He became the youngest quarterback in NFL history to start a Pro Bowl game.
Jackson was voted the MVP of the 2019 season. He became the second player in history after Tom Brady to be voted unanimously and the second-youngest player to win, behind only Jim Brown. Jackson, along with Patrick Mahomes, Cam Newton and Steve McNair, is one of the four African-American quarterbacks to win the AP MVP award.
2020 season
In the season-opener against the Cleveland Browns, Jackson went 20 for 25 for 275 yards and three touchdowns in the Ravens 38–6 victory. He was named the AFC Offensive Player of the Week due to his performance. In Week 3 against the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday Night Football, Jackson threw for a career-low 97 yards and a touchdown during the 20–34 loss. In the Ravens Week 4 31–17 victory over the Washington Football Team, Jackson threw for 193 yards and two touchdowns, rushed for 52 yards and one touchdown making him the fastest player in NFL history to reach 5,000 yards passing and 2,000 yards rushing. In Week 8 against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Jackson threw for 208 yards and two touchdowns, but also threw two interceptions, including his first career pick six, and lost two fumbles during the 24–28 loss. On November 26, 2020, Jackson tested positive for COVID-19 and was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list. He was activated on December 7.
Jackson made his return in Week 13 against the Dallas Cowboys. During the game, Jackson threw for 107 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception and rushed for 94 yards and a touchdown in the 34–17 win. The next week, Jackson set an NFL record for the most rushing yards by a quarterback on Monday Night Football as he rushed for 124 yards in a thriller against the Cleveland Browns. However, Jackson then left the game late in the third quarter due to leg cramps. He was out of the game for most of the fourth quarter, and Cleveland was able to come back from 14-down and take a 35-34 lead. After backup Trace McSorley suffered a left knee sprain with two minutes left in regulation, Jackson re-entered the game and, on 4th down and 5, threw a 44-yard touchdown pass to Marquise Brown. After the Browns drove down and tied the game at 42, Jackson followed up with a short drive to get the Ravens into field goal range, allowing them to get the win by the score of 47–42. Jackson had two rushing touchdowns and a passing touchdown in the game and was named the AFC Offensive Player of the Week for his performance in Week 14. In Week 15 against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Jackson threw for 243 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception and rushed for 35 yards and a touchdown during the 40–14 win. In Week 17 against the Cincinnati Bengals, Jackson threw for 113 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception and rushed for 97 yards during the 38–3 win. During the game, Jackson became the first NFL quarterback to have multiple seasons surpassing 1,000 rushing yards.
Postseason
In the Wild Card Round, Jackson won his first career playoff game by defeating the Tennessee Titans in a rematch of the previous year’s Divisional Round matchup. He threw for 179 yards and one interception and rushed for 136 yards and a touchdown during the 20–13 win. In the Divisional Round against the Buffalo Bills, Jackson threw for 162 yards and rushed for 34 yards, but threw a costly red zone pick-six to Taron Johnson late in third quarter. He then sustained a concussion on the last play of the third quarter, effectively ending his season as the Ravens would lose 3–17.
2021 season
On April 30, 2021, the Ravens exercised the fifth-year option on Jackson’s contract, worth a guaranteed $23 million for the 2022 season. Jackson was diagnosed with COVID-19 around the start of training camp, the second time he had contracted the virus.
During Monday Night Football against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 1, Jackson finished with 235 passing yards, 86 rushing yards, a passing touchdown, but also lost two of three fumbles as the Ravens lost in overtime 27–33. During NBC Sunday Night Football against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 2, Jackson finished with 239 passing yards, 107 rushing yards, two interceptions, and three total touchdowns as the Ravens won 36–35.
Player profile
Jackson reportedly clocked in a 4.34 40 yard dash time in 2017 at Louisville which would have been the fastest time in NFL history for a quarterback.
NFL career statistics
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Led the league | |
| NFL record (for quarterbacks) | |
| AP NFL MVP | |
| Bold | Career high |
Regular season
| Year | Team | Games | Passing | Rushing | Sacks | Fumbles | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Record | Comp | Att | Pct | Yds | Avg | TD | Int | Rate | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | Sck | SckY | Fum | Lost | ||
| 2018 | BAL | 16 | 7 | 6−1 | 99 | 170 | 58.2 | 1,201 | 7.1 | 6 | 3 | 84.5 | 147 | 695 | 4.7 | 5 | 16 | 71 | 12 | 4 |
| 2019 | BAL | 15 | 15 | 13–2 | 265 | 401 | 66.1 | 3,127 | 7.8 | 36 | 6 | 113.3 | 176 | 1,206 | 6.9 | 7 | 23 | 106 | 9 | 2 |
| 2020 | BAL | 15 | 15 | 11–4 | 242 | 376 | 64.4 | 2,757 | 7.3 | 26 | 9 | 99.3 | 159 | 1,005 | 6.3 | 7 | 29 | 160 | 10 | 4 |
| 2021 | BAL | 3 | 3 | 2–1 | 53 | 87 | 60.9 | 761 | 8.8 | 3 | 3 | 86.4 | 35 | 251 | 7.2 | 2 | 8 | 43 | 4 | 2 |
| Career | 49 | 40 | 32–8 | 659 | 1,034 | 63.7 | 7,846 | 7.6 | 71 | 21 | 101.2 | 517 | 3,157 | 6.1 | 21 | 76 | 380 | 35 | 12 | |
Postseason
| Year | Team | Games | Passing | Rushing | Sacks | Fumbles | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Record | Comp | Att | Pct | Yds | Avg | TD | Int | Rate | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | Sck | SckY | Fum | Lost | ||
| 2018 | BAL | 1 | 1 | 0−1 | 14 | 29 | 48.3 | 194 | 6.7 | 2 | 1 | 78.8 | 9 | 54 | 6.0 | 0 | 7 | 55 | 3 | 1 |
| 2019 | BAL | 1 | 1 | 0−1 | 31 | 59 | 52.5 | 365 | 6.2 | 1 | 2 | 63.2 | 20 | 143 | 7.2 | 0 | 4 | 20 | 1 | 1 |
| 2020 | BAL | 2 | 2 | 1−1 | 31 | 48 | 64.6 | 341 | 7.1 | 0 | 2 | 68.1 | 25 | 170 | 6.8 | 1 | 8 | 38 | 1 | 0 |
| Career | 4 | 4 | 1−3 | 76 | 136 | 55.9 | 900 | 6.6 | 3 | 5 | 68.3 | 54 | 367 | 6.8 | 1 | 19 | 113 | 5 | 2 | |
Awards and highlights
College
NCAA Football
- Heisman Trophy (2016)
- Maxwell Award (2016)
- Walter Camp Award (2016)
- Associated Press Player of the Year (2016)
- Sporting News Player of the Year (2016)
- Unanimous All-American (2016)
- 2× ACC Player of the Year (2016, 2017)
- 2× ACC Offensive Player of the Year (2016, 2017)
- ACC Athlete of the Year (2018)
- Total yards: 5261 (2017)
Louisville Cardinals football
- Unanimous selection to Louisville Cardinals Team of the Decade (2010-2019)
- First Louisville Cardinals quarterback named to All-American team: (2016)
- Most career rushing attempts by a quarterback: 655 (2015-2017)
- Most career rushing yards: 4,132 (2015-2017)
- Most career rushing touchdowns: 50 (2015-2017)
- Most passing touchdowns in a game: 6 (tied with Chris Redman) (2016)
NFL
- NFL Most Valuable Player (2019)
- Bert Bell Award (2019)
- 7× AFC Offensive Player of the Week (2019: Week 1, Week 9, Week 10, Week 12, Week 15) (2020: Week 1, Week 14)
- NFL Offensive Rookie of the Month (December 2018)
- 2x AFC Offensive Player of the Month (December 2018) (November 2019)
- FedEx Air Player of the Year (2019)
- Kansas City Committee of 101 awards AFC Offensive Player of the Year (2019)
- Pro Bowl (2019)
- Pro Bowl Offensive MVP (2019)
| External video | |
|---|---|
|
- First-team All-Pro (2019)
- Sporting News Offensive Player of the Year (2019)
- 1 ranked player on NFL Top 100 (2020)
NFL records
- First quarterback with multiple 1,000-yard rushing seasons (2019, 2020)
- Most rushing yards by a quarterback in a season: 1,206 (2019)
- Most rushing attempts by a quarterback in a season: 159 (2019)
- Most 100+ rushing yards games by a quarterback in a season: 5 (2019)
- Most perfect passer ratings in a season (tied with Ben Roethlisberger): 2 (2019)
- Youngest quarterback to ever start a playoff game: 21 years, 364 days (2018 Wild Card Round against the Los Angeles Chargers)
- Youngest quarterback to achieve a perfect passer rating: 22 years, 244 days (Week 1, 2019)
- Youngest quarterback to start a Pro Bowl game.
- Highest touchdown passing percentage (7.4%) in the Super Bowl Era (minimum 500 attempts)
Ravens franchise records
- First quarterback to start in a Pro Bowl game.
- First quarterback to make First team All-Pro.
- Most rushing yards by a quarterback in a game: 152 (Week 6, 2019)
- Most passing touchdowns in a season: 36 (2019)
- Lowest percentage of passes intercepted, season: 1.5 (2019)
- Lowest percentage of passes intercepted, career: 1.6 (2018-2019)
- Most games with a perfect passer rating: 2
- Most passing touchdowns in a game: 5 (tied with Joe Flacco and Tony Banks)
- Highest completion percentage in a game: 88.2
- Highest completion percentage in a season: 66.1 (2019)
- Highest completion percentage, career: 64.0 (2018-2020)
- Highest passer rating, season: 113.3 (2019)
- Highest passer rating, career: 102.6 (2018-2020)
In popular culture
| External video | |
|---|---|
|
Prior to the start of the 2019 NFL season, Jackson appeared on ABC‘s Celebrity Family Feud, pitting current NFL players against former NFL players. During the 2019 NFL season, Jackson’s Madden NFL character speed was upgraded to 96, making Jackson the fastest quarterback in that game’s history.[151][152] Jackson was the cover athlete in the Madden NFL 21 video game.
In 2019, Pope Francis was gifted a signed Lamar Jackson Ravens jersey.
In February 2020, BET Digital highlighted Jackson as one of 40 of the most inspiring and innovative vanguards in African American culture and who are redefining what it means to be “unapologetically young, gifted & Black”.
Personal life
As of 2019, Jackson lives in Owings Mills, Maryland, about 20 minutes from the Ravens training complex with his mother, brother, and sisters. Adoree Jackson is a distant relative.
Jackson is a Christian. Jackson’s pre-game meal is shrimp alfredo pasta and his favorite superhero is Superman.
Jackson worked toward a communications major at the University of Louisville while he played his college football there.
Jackson is a supporter of Blessings in a Backpack, a Louisville charity that provides meals on weekends to children served by the National School Lunch Program.
Sports apparel
In 2018, Jackson announced the launch of his sportswear line, Era 8 Apparel. In March 2020, Jackson filed a federal lawsuit against Amazon, charging the corporate giant with engaging in the “deliberate and unauthorized use” of Jackson’s name, image and persona. The suit also alleges that Amazon had unlawfully infringed on his right of publicity in connection with alleged “false advertising and endorsement of unlicensed and infringing articles of clothing.”
In August 2020 Jackson signed an endorsement deal with Oakley, Inc., a company that produces sunglasses, sports goggles and football helmet visors.
