Everybody wants the Ravens to pay Lamar Jackson after another record-setting game

The Baltimore Ravens aren’t going to extend Lamar Jackson midseason. Both team and player have made it abundantly clear that, once the self-imposed deadline of Week 1 passed, extension talks would be shelved for the time being.

But it’s hard not to feel like Jackson deserves his money now after his unbelievable performance in Sunday’s 42-38 loss to the Miami Dolphins. And that’s just it, despite Jackson’s brilliance, the Ravens still fell short in embarrassing fashion.

Jackson was phenomenal on Sunday setting numerous NFL records en route to establishing himself as a potential early MVP favorite. He was the Ravens’ offense, more specifically the running game which was nonexistent outside of their quarterback’s legs.

Unfortunately, Jackson wasn’t on the field when Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle torched the Ravens’ secondary. His incredible performance was in vain, but it was enough to get people talking about his contract situation.

Everyone from Richard Sherman to Shannon Sharpe to Pat McAfee to a number of NBA stars all rushed to the defense of Jackson insisting that the man deserves to be paid, and that his price tag is only going up.

That latter part is most certainly true.

Numerous sports figures all believe the Ravens need to pay Lamar Jackson

Jackson’s supporters weren’t just limited to the NFL world as NBA stars such as James Harden, Ja Morant, and Dejounte Murray all came out in support of the former MVP.

Their message was quite simple. “Pay the man.”

https://twitter.com/JaMorant/status/1571581901290209281

Others raised a very valid point — that point being that Jackson’s price tag is only continuing to rise. In many ways, Jackson decided to bet on himself this season.

He went into the year knowing the risks and believed that his on-field performance would speak for itself. Through two weeks, it most certainly has.

His price is skyrocketing, and everyone knows it.

Of course, it might not be as simple as the Ravens just “paying that man.” The Ravens are hesitant to give Jackson the fully-guaranteed contract he desires and believe that the Deshaun Watson deal was an outlier as opposed to a new norm.

They could point to extensions to the likes of Kyler Murray and Russell Wilson that were down after the Watson deal as evidence that Watson’s contract didn’t set a new precedent. That said, Murray and Wilson have each had their struggles this season.

Ultimately, everyone wants to see Lamar Jackson in a Ravens jersey for the remainder of his career. Well, at least Ravens fans do.

Contract talks won’t be revisited until the offseason, so all this talk about “paying him now” is just noise for the time being. However, his price tag is most certainly on the rise.