For about a week, Jalen Hurts was the highest-paid athlete in NFL history. That was until Lamar Jackson of the Baltimore Ravens swooped in and secured the largest deal ever recorded within the organization.
Yesterday (April 27), as the 2023 NFL Draft was underway, Jackson, who has been with the league since 2018, stole the headlines. According to CNN, the 26-year-old renewed his contract for five more years for a historic $260 million. With his record-breaking deal comes a guaranteed $185 million. And what makes his agreement more jaw-dropping is the quarterback reportedly negotiated his contract without the help of an agent he’d have to pay a fee to, opting to allow his mother to handle the paperwork. Jackson seemingly confirmed the rumors by posting a clip of a sports broadcast discussing the topic, adding, “My agent.”
Twitter couldn’t be more proud. A tweet shared by the league referred to the Florida native as “the new highest-paid player in the NFL.” Another account broke it down in the simplest way possible: “NFL superstar QB Lamar Jackson fired his agent [and] hired his mom to negotiate his contract. He is now the highest-paid QB after signing a $260M [five-year] deal. He avoided the 3 [percent] agent fee and gave the $7.8M to his mom. ‘Keep it in the family.’” Another individual remembered what the baller went through to get to where he is today. “Lamar Jackson signing a deal to give his family generational wealth, five years after he sat in the green room with his mom, watching the picks go by as he fell in the draft… hard not to get emotional. What a player. What a story,” a fan wrote with a photo from the 2018 draft.
“Happy for him and his moms, hella deserving!” a supporter responded. “Looks like Lamar Jackson is throwing touchdowns AND saving money on agent fees. Maybe it’s time for NFL players to drop the dead weight and start negotiating their own contracts,” one person suggested. “Not bad for 10 games per year,” another said of the deal.
See more reactions below!