Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow Named 'NFL Equivalent' to Luka Doncic, LA Lakers Trade

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Ryan Brooks | Last updated Feb 2, 2025 9:32 AM ET

The NBA got some league-shattering news on Saturday night. ESPN's Shams Charania reported that the Los Angeles Lakers acquired Luka Doncic in a trade that sent Anthony Davis to the Dallas Mavericks.

Players, fans and other media members had to question whether the NBA insider was hacked or not. The move was among the most shocking ones the league has ever seen, and it even shocked the entire sports world.

Patrick Mahomes, who is aiming to win a third-straight Super Bowl reacted to the news, though he is a Mavericks fan.

As NFL fans were reacting to the groundbreaking news, ESPN's Adam Schefter took a stab at making a cross-league reference to materialize just how absurd the trade was for fans of the NFL.

First, Schefter looked at past massive trades to compare, struggling to find a great comparison. Then, he took to a hypothetical trade to put into terms how extreme the trade was.

The trade? The Baltimore Ravens landing Joe Burrow in a move that sends Lamar Jackson to the Cincinnati Bengals.

"An NFL equivalent: the Ravens trading Lamar Jackson+ to the Bengals in exchange for Joe Burrow+ — in the middle of the season," Schefter shared on X.

An NFL equivalent: the Ravens trading Lamar Jackson+ to the Bengals in exchange for Joe Burrow+ — in the middle of the season.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 2, 2025

Two MVP-caliber quarterbacks trading places, as divisional rivals, mid-season, just proves how many layers there are to the recent Lakers move.

As LeBron James heads toward the end of his career, he is joined by a new generational talent who will be passed the torch for the Lakers as a prominent organization in the entire world.

It's hard to put into NFL terms just how absurd the move is, it'll be interesting to see how it continues to play out as Doncic returns to the hardwood.

For the Ravens, in this scenario, they'd be getting a younger quarterback who happens to play at an MVP level, though his skillset and fit into the offense would be much different in Burrow.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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