Ravens' Lamar Jackson Deal A 'Breaking Point' - Ex NFL Exec

Andrew Brandt, formerly employed in the Green Bay Packers' front office, hints that the civil war of attrition between the Baltimore Ravens and Lamar Jackson could change NFL free agency forever.

The Baltimore Ravens' immediate future could be decided by any form of resolution with their franchise quarterback Lamar Jackson, especially with his desired target Odell Beckham Jr. along for the ride. 

According to one former NFL executive, the long-term landscape of the league's free agency could hinge upon it as well.

Former agent and vice president of player finance and general counsel Andrew Brandt spoke with ESPN about the future of long-term guaranteed contracts in the NFL this week. Brandt claims that if Jackson doesn't get the roster and financial stability he's seeking from the Ravens, such deals could be at a premium further down the road. 

It could eventually get to the point, Brandt explains, where the fully guaranteed $230 million Deshaun Watson received from the Cleveland Browns could be "a blip on the radar" in two decades. He cites the pricey but not fully assured deals received by fellow Pro Bowlers Derek Carr, Kyler Murray and Russell Wilson set the potential precedent.

"They were all for good money," Brandt said. "But they're the traditional structure of one year and two years where you can't get out of the contract, and then you can if you're the team [in Year 3]. So, I guess we are at a breaking point, and Lamar's the test case."

It should be noted that Brandt's comments came before the reveal of the $255 million extension Jalen Hurts received in Philadelphia, but that features "only" $179 million guaranteed.

Jackson is said to be searching for a guaranteed deal in Watson's stratosphere. But comments in the ESPN report, penned by Stephen Holder, hint that while guaranteed contracts are commonplace in MLB and the NBA, the concept doesn't appear to be on its way in the NFL ... much to Jackson's apparent chagrin.

"I do not believe in fully guaranteed contracts," Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay said. "I think that a (guaranteed) percentage is one thing, but I think that what I've seen in the NBA, in Major League Baseball, I just don't see it as positive competitively. I don't see it as a positive element at all."

Many saw the guaranteed $84 million earned by Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins as a harbinger of assured contracts but only Watson has been able to cash in thus far. 

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Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags

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