The Roquan Smith and Lamar Jackson contract situations are similar in that both players were set to hit free agency this offseason and they also represent themselves.
The latter commonality is a move that has been criticized by some, as neither Smith nor Jackson have agents. Especially for players working out lucrative deals for themselves, the absence of an agent can create a unique dynamic most players don’t go through in the negotiation process.
But the Ravens and Smith, who Baltimore acquired ahead of the trade deadline, found common ground this week. The linebacker landed a $100 million deal that will keep him in Baltimore the next five seasons, with $60 million of the money guaranteed.
In his weekly appearance on the “Joe Rose Show with Zach Krantz,” Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio suggested that maybe the Smith deal was the Ravens sending a message.
"You throw in that Roquan Smith contract – I think that was the most passive-aggressive move the Ravens could have made,” Florio said. “I was talking to an agent last night about the deal. The agent was like ‘The guy did a pretty good deal for himself” and I said you can’t rule out the possibility that the Ravens made sure it was a pretty good deal so that the message would be we know how to do a good, fair deal with a guy who doesn’t have an agent.”
That’s not to say the Ravens don’t have a football interest in keeping Smith, who is one of the NFL’s better off-ball linebackers – as the value of his new contract would suggest. But to Florio’s point, getting a deal done with Smith helps the organization make a case that they don’t need an agent involved in order to get a big deal done.
In the end, it is the players’ prerogative, and a largely commendable one at that, to represent themselves. It worked out for Smith, and Jackson certainly must be hoping that’ll be the case for himself, too.
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