What can the Ravens Afford Post a Lamar Deal?
Pat Mahomes and Lamar Jackson talk were all anyone could blab about when the “half billi” deal went down last week. We know that Lamar is going to get a similar deal annually, but maybe not longevity-wise. Today, let’s not focus on Lamar. I would like to see what that type of deal is going to do to a couple of other guys on the roster.
Guys like Ronnie Stanley, Marlon Humphrey, and Mark Andrews are essential to this team, but will there be casualties in securing the league’s most electrifying player? Can the Ravens afford to let a few of these stars walk to secure Lamar’s bag?
I said what I said!
I’ll put a number out there that the Baltimore Ravens‘ own website put out there. $170M over 4-years puts him at about $42.5M per year. That is just $2.5M under the current Super Bowl MVP. Let’s say the projection is right (even though I believe Lamar will surpass Pat’s deal). Will there still be enough money to sign some of the biggest stars on the team? Let’s take a look.
Securing the blindside
The market for LTs like Ronnie Stanley is about $17.2M annually, according to spotrac.com. I am guessing that based on the ever-rising market per position, and having a prestigious company like Roc Nation representing him, Ronnie is going to raise the market with his contract at about $23M annually. That is one million more than Laremy Tunsil is currently earning. If my Louisiana math is correct, in a year, just two Ravens are projected to take up 32.8% of the cap. Let’s move on to our beloved “Fruit Punch”.
Fruit Punch
Marlon Humphrey has been disrespected in the media by several uniformed analysts. However, with the help of PFF, legit film watchers, his agent can see clearly why his guy is going to command top-5 CB salary. Marlon may be under contract until 2021, but Eric DeCosta likes resigning guys prior to their final year. $18M annually is the number EDC could try and start at for the Ravens’ number one CB.
However, Segal may argue that Humphrey’s ability to play both inside and outside makes him a versatile player, commanding more of a salary. The Ravens could let Humphrey walk and move on with Peters as the top guy, but I don’t see that in the plans at all. Look for Humphrey to gain about $19M per year, which would put him just under Stephon Gilmore, who has everyone drooling over his ability to lock down his side of the field. Adding the numbers together again, let’s look:
Lamar – 42.5M
Ronnie – 23M
Marlon – 19M
Can I hold something? Yeesh, those three guys are projected to make a combined $84.5M per year! They would take up a whopping 65.6% of the salary cap. Hopefully, the cap rises before 2021 because there is a lot of money to hand out and very little room to operate under. Either way, Steve Bisciotti is about to have to start bringing sack lunches to work.