Lamar Jackson’s mom leading Ravens contract talks

When it comes to Lamar Jackson's new contract with the Ravens, it's a family discussion.

It’s a family business.

The Baltimore Ravens and quarterback Lamar Jackson have begun to discuss a contract extension — but there won’t any agents involved. Instead, Jackson will be represented by his mother, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

“Agents, a lot of times, sort of act as a buffer for teams to players,” Rapoport said on “The Pat McAfee Show” this week. “It is a little different with Lamar Jackson because it’s his mom sort of acting as his business partner, business manager.”

This is not the first negotiation that Felicia Jones, the 2019 MVP’s mom, has been involved in. She led contract discussions for Jackson’s rookie deal, securing a four-year, $9.5 million deal for her son.

NFL players can’t begin renegotiating contracts until after their third regular season concludes. The Ravens exercised Jackson’s fifth-year option that will pay him over $23 million in 2022.

Lamar Jackson is due for a monumental second contract.

When Jackson made his mom his business partner, it “raised eyebrows,” in the agent community, according to Rapoport. Many players reps — and McAfee, the former NFL punter — fear that having his mom represent him could come back to haunt the 24-year-old superstar.

“It is a lot of pressure, unbelievably difficult,” McAfee said of NFL contract negotiations. “The stakes are incredibly high because if you lock yourself into a bad deal you could cost yourself tens of millions of dollars.”

Lamar Jackson and his mother Felicia Jones at the 2016 Heisman Trophy Award ceremony.

The franchise QB has certainly earned a large payday. In his MVP season, Jackson threw for 3,127 yards, 36 touchdowns, only six interceptions, and completed 66.1% of his throws. The dual-threat star also added 1,206 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground.

Jackson was drafted by the Ravens with the last pick in the first round in 2017. He has led them to the playoffs in each of the past three seasons. But, he still has unfinished business left in Baltimore.

“I would love to be here forever,” Jackson told reporters in May. “I love Baltimore. I love the whole organization. I love everybody in the building. But hopefully we’ll be making something happen pretty soon—or whenever.”

This story originally appeared on: NyPost - Author:Evan Orris