The NFL issued a memo on Thursday to teams prohibiting them from negotiating with Ken Francis, who is an uncertified representative for Ravens QB Lamar Jackson.
“The NFLPA has informed us that a person by the name of Ken Francis, who is not an NFLPA certified agent, may be contacting Clubs and attempting to persuade Club personnel to enter into negotiations with or concerning Lamar Jackson, who is currently under a Nonexclusive Franchise Tender with the Baltimore Ravens.
“As an uncertified person, Mr. Francis is prohibited from negotiating Offer Sheets or Player Contracts, or discussing potential trades on behalf of any NFL player or prospective player or assisting in or advising with respect to such negotiations.
“Clubs are reminded that, under Article 48 of the NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement, an Offer Sheet, which may result in an NFL Player Contract, may only be negotiated with the player, if he is acting on his own behalf, or with the player’s NFLPA certified agent. To be clear, Mr. Jackson is not currently represented by an NFLPA certified agent.
“Violation of this rule may result in disapproval of any Offer Sheet or resulting Player Contract entered into by Mr. Jackson and the new Club.”
Pro Football Talk recently reported that a representative for Jackson has contacted more than one team in an effort to spark negotiations regarding a potential offer sheet.
According to PFT, the representative told clubs that Jackson does not want a fully-guaranteed contract and Lamar is ready to move on from the Ravens.
Jackson is free to meet with interested teams right now and there hasn’t been any reported progress between him and the Ravens on an extension.
Multiple reports have said that teams are reluctant to sign Jackson to an offer sheet that the Ravens will just turn around and match and that they would prefer to negotiate a traditional trade with Baltimore instead.
Jackson, 26, is a former first-round pick of the Ravens back in 2018. He just finished the fourth year of his four-year, $9,471,652 contract that included a $5,968,472 signing bonus.
The Ravens picked up Jackson’s fifth-year option that will cost them $23 million fully guaranteed for the 2022 season, but won’t prevent them from working on an extension. He’s due to be an unrestricted free agent in 2023.
In 2022, Jackson appeared in 12 games for the Ravens and completed 62.3 percent of his passes for 2,242 yards, 17 touchdowns, and seven interceptions. He also rushed for 764 yards and three touchdowns.
We’ll have more regarding Jackson as the news is available.
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