Shoutout to the listener who chimed in on our text line the other day, calling my brand of blogging "Candid Kravitz" - I am getting back to daily blog posts and I like to keep my content short and sweet. Get you in and out. And at the risk of sounding crass...its the perfect bathroom break read. Enter the 'Can'-did moniker. So, thanks for that. This will be an IYKYK situation moving forward. (wink)
Moving on...
There seems to be a lot of confusion surrounding Lamar Jackson and this non-exclusive franchise tag.
I’ve seen players, media members, and fans call for collusion…
And I do think there’s something to that…
But I think an important detail to consider is that we don’t know for sure...yet. Lamar Jackson can’t start talking to teams…technically…until March 13th. That is when the legal tampering period opens.
If a team goes the offer sheet route, and Baltimore doesn’t match, they have to give Baltimore a 1st round pick in 2023 and 2024. If the team who signs the sheet doesn’t have those, they can’t get it done.
That then excludes the following- Rams, Phins, 49ers, Broncos, and Browns.
However, if nothing happens by March 15th, teams can simply trade for Lamar as they normally would.
So, why are so many convinced there’s collusion? Its actually quite simple. Because the Ravens never would’ve gone this route if they weren’t completely convinced he wasn’t going to get the offer he wanted. Why would you allow Lamar to walk out the door and only get 2 first round picks?
He’s worth way more than that.
Russell Wilson was traded for multiple 1sts, several other picks, and players!
We won’t technically know that there’s any sort of collusion until after March 13th, but these owners talk, they meet on yachts, and everyone is pissed at what Jimmy Haslam (Browns owner) did with the Watson contract. Unfortunately for Lamar, he’s the one whose falling on the sword even if he doesn’t really deserve it. Wrong place, wrong time, wrong stance to take. Team owners will always win these battles.
Peep Mike Ginnitti's tweets for added context and visit his site (Spotrac.com) for legitimate professional breakdowns.