Lamar Jackson: NFL Success & the Quest for a Super Bowl

One of my favorite people on the planet is Lamar Jackson. I've got a great relationship with Lamar. Lamar's a South Florida kid. One of the biggest misses at the University of Miami is not having that kid go to the University of Miami. Instead, he ends up going to Louisville, and they get him out of Miami Northwestern. He should have been a Miami Hurricane, and that's always one of our conversations that we go back and forth on. But I think he's just absolutely one of the great faces of the national football league. There is no doubt he's one of the absolute great athletes we've ever seen play the position. He's a two-time NFL Most Valuable Player. I even made the comment when they drafted him at 32, I did not think he was going to be an NFL-style quarterback. I even made the comment when he took over for Joe Flacco that that guy would be out of the league in five years. I couldn't have been more wrong. He has turned himself into one of the greatest players at that position in what we've ever seen when it comes to playing as an athlete. 41 touchdown passes, six picks one year. He ran for a thousand yards two times in a row. But here's the big thing with him. If you're going to put that emphasis on the top of your resume, it's got to be a Super Bowl. He's got to win games that matter. And does Baltimore trust him enough to spend $63 million? That's basically what Patrick Mahomes just got on his new contract extension. Do the Baltimore Ravens feel that Lamar Jackson can deliver a Super Bowl trophy for the Ravens? Truly one of the greatest players we've ever seen. But he's got to win the games that matter. He can't just be a regular season MVP. Look, I've made this comment. What do you think is harder to win? A Super Bowl MVP or a regular season MVP? Obviously, it's a season MVP. You got to play great for six months. You got to play great for 60 minutes when you play in that Super Bowl. But you've got to have a Super Bowl moment. You've got to have moments that you remember. What's the one signature moment you remember in Lamar Jackson's career? He doesn't have one. They can't be regular season moments. You make your money in the regular season. You define your legacy in the postseason. And this is where Lamar Jackson has to get it done. He's truly one of the greatest players I've ever seen. I've never seen a player with that kind of athleticism that can run the football, that can throw the ball. He's actually become a better passer. But if you're Steve Miscotti, the owner of the Baltimore Ravens, you've got to ask yourself, along with Eric Dacosta, am I going to invest $64 million in a player that has yet to win a big game? You pay those players that kind of money to win those type of football games. Hey, you can make all the comments you want about Jalen Hurts, and I do. I do not believe that Jalen Hurts is an elite football player. I just don't. I don't think he has the elite skillset to be a quarterback in this league. However, Dan, how do you dismiss the resume? 50 and 18 over the last four years, two NFC championships, a Super Bowl, a Super Bowl MVP. It contradicts everything I just said and all the things that you want your quarterback to do when it comes to delivering the big game. Hurts may not be what Lamar Jackson is, but Lamar Jackson has not accomplished what Jalen Hurts has accomplished. This is all about winning the game that matters. Look, I get it. You're running into people like Mahomes, or you're running into people like Allen, and you run into those folks. But you make your legacy that way. Look at what Joe Montana did back in the day. He beat John Elway, and he beat Dan Marino in Super Bowls. You want to know why I consider him the greatest quarterback in pro football history? Because back then, you got your face killed, and you got your ass kicked, and you still delivered when you were in a league that had the quarterback hit and wide receivers were mugged going down the sidelines. Brady's a sensational quarterback, but Montana here in big games, 12 touchdowns, no picks, 135 quarterback rating. I don't know. That's called delivering in the big moment. Lamar Jackson's got to deliver in the big moment. A phenomenal football player, tremendous face of a franchise. The things that he does in the community is second to none. I love the guy, but you've got to be able to win. And if you're going to invest that kind of money in a player like Lamar Jackson, you've got to believe, and do the Ravens believe, he can deliver the big moment and the big game.