Although it has been a while, the question of whether the NFL and its owners conspired against Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson has returned to the forefront as he is set to earn his second MVP award after a turbulent spring including contract disputes.
Mike Florio, who predicted an easy win for the San Francisco 49ers on Monday after harshly criticizing Lamar Jackson and the Ravens just a few days earlier, is back at his best, making headlines with his sharp observations.
But this time, he might be incredibly correct.
After the Ravens beat the 49ers, Mike “Flores” Florio was called out by Jackson. A few minutes later, Florio apologized to the quarterback and the Ravens team as a whole in the open. Now, Florio is discussing the “colluding” that occurred between the NFL and Lamar Jackson during the spring of last year when the quarterback received a non-exclusive franchise tag.
In an article for Pro Football Talk, Florio stated unequivocally that he believed the other 31 teams’ lack of interest in Lamar was “about collusion, not competition.”
Notwithstanding Jackson’s abilities, which helped him earn a consensus MVP award in 2019 and most likely another one in February of next year, no NFL team offered the quarterback an offer sheet in March.
Florio believes that the team owners made a “deliberate effort” to avoid following the example established by the Cleveland Browns, who gave fellow quarterback Deshaun Watson a $230 million contract that was completely guaranteed. According to Florio, a number of team owners have publicly questioned Watson’s contract, including Steve Bisciotti of the Ravens.
According to Florio, this was all about conspiracy, and the owners’ main goal was to “bring balance back”—that is, tip the scales in favor of themselves rather than the players. It appears that teams decided not to pursue Jackson because they “wanted to ensure that Watson’s contract would be an aberration, not a trend.”
Leave a Reply