3 reasons Baltimore Ravens were able to finalize deal with Lamar Jackson

1. No other teams showed interest in Lamar Jackson

The reality of the Lamar Jackson situation is that he ended up backed up against the wall. He essentially had two options, to play for the franchise tag, a lesser franchise tag than the normal one. Or, he could sign with the Baltimore Ravens, and get a long-term deal with upfront money that is way above the franchise tag.

When it comes down to it, the upfront money is a lot more valuable than holding out for principle. Even if Jackson sat out a year, the Ravens would franchise tag him again. At some point, he had to give in.

This could have changed if any team stepped up and made Jackson an offer he could not refuse. However, the Ravens also had the chance to match any deal, and it would have been tough to see a team putting something together that Baltimore would not match. So, everyone stayed out of it, and did not put together a deal that the Ravens would have accepted anyway.

This really helped the Ravens. Jackson demanded a trade and no one bit. He sat there and realized he had no outs. So, he had no leverage, and the Ravens still went over the top and beat the Jalen Hurts deal, they also went out and added Odell Beckham. That was enough for Jackson to admit that the team was invested in him, making both sides feel good about a long-term deal.