Lamar Jackson saved Baltimore Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta’s night, revealing contract negotiations were close after his beloved Boston Celtics blew the chance to put their NBA Play-Off series to bed in Game Five, falling to a 117-119 defeat to the Atlanta Hawks, courtesy of a Trae Young special in the dying seconds.
“I think we can get a deal done,” a text from Jackson to DeCosta read, as revealed on the Ravens' official website. “We're getting close.”
Fresh off the back of watching the Celtics be forced to play Game Six, DeCosta responded to Jackson, saying: “I said back to him, 'Lamar, you just saved my night’. Because I was in a dark place, and at that point I didn't care anymore about the Celtics."
Then just a short day later, it was announced that Jackson and the Ravens had agreed to a five-year, $260million (£206m) contract with $185m (£147m) guaranteed.
The agreement brought an end to a two-year on-and-off contract negotiation stalemate, which saw a non-exclusive franchise tag be placed on Jackson, as well as the player request a trade away.
Jackson is now the highest-paid player in the NFL and managed to achieve such a deal without an agent. In fact, his mother stepped into the role and thrashed out terms. “Mother knows best,” they say, and Jackson undoubtedly agrees.
Talks with Jackson’s mother were described as a “very unusual, unique negotiation” by GM DeCosta. However, he hopes he’s never involved in such a long-winded, complicated deal again. “I just think that it happened in the normal course, that it was meant to happen the way it did for whatever reason,” DeCosta said.
“Hopefully – honestly I have to say – I hope I never have to be a part of that type of negotiation again because of the time, because of the emotional aspect, because Lamar is such a special player and what that means to our club and to this city."
Baltimore is hoping to build a Super Bowl-contending team for the future. As well as securing the long-term future of Jackson, they also snapped up veteran wide receiver, Odell Beckham Jr.
Another weapon was also added to the wide receiving ranks, bolstering Jackson’s offense, with the Ravens drafting Zay Flowers out of Boston College with the No22 overall pick in the first round of Thursday’s NFL Draft right after the news of Jackson’s new deal.
"Sometimes, you just need time," DeCosta said. "Sometimes these things can happen in two weeks, and sometimes it takes two years. This was on that scale. I know that our appreciation and love for Lamar has really never wavered, but it was business as well.
"Sometimes with family, things can get tough. We all feel that sometimes when you're in a fight with your parents, or a sibling or you're trying to figure something out. It's like the emotion of it, and there was definitely some emotion, but in the end, we've been blessed to have Lamar as part of this organisation for a long time. We've won a lot of football games. I think he feels this place is special too. It was business; it wasn't personal, and I think over time, that's kind of what developed."
