Mark Madden: Breaking the bank for Lamar Jackson doesn't make sense

It’s comical that every ex-player in the football media is throwing a fit because quarterback Lamar Jackson isn’t getting what he wants, namely fully guaranteed mega-bucks.

NFL teams have plenty of legit reasons to not want Jackson at the price he’s looking for.

• Jackson is just 26 but plays a physically debilitating style that saw him miss 11 games over the past two seasons.

• He’s 1-3 in playoff games. He lacks the precise passing needed to beat good teams in big situations. He’s not Patrick Mahomes or Joe Burrow. Jackson isn’t a true top-level quarterback. He’s a notch below.

• He doesn’t have an agent. Jackson’s only perspective is what he wants, not what’s realistic. He’s got no feel for what the NFL’s owners and GMs think.

• The market decides. That’s why the Ravens used the non-exclusive franchise tag: to facilitate exactly that and take their impasse with Jackson league-wide. Let’s see what other teams offer. (So far, it’s nothing.)

• Deshaun Watson getting $230 million guaranteed from Cleveland didn’t set the market, as some have said. That contract set what the market isn’t.

• Besides having to pay Jackson, no team wants to give up two first-round picks.

• If the Ravens match an offer that Jackson accepts, the team making that nullified offer must explain to its incumbent quarterback that they liked him better all along. (He won’t believe it.)

• You’ve got to rip up your playbook and redesign it to fit Jackson’s unique skill set.

• You likely have to significantly change your offensive personnel to fit Jackson’s unique skill set.

Related

• Tim Benz: Lamar Jackson is negotiating. He's not a '$32 million victim'
• Lamar Jackson gets nonexclusive franchise tag from Ravens

Jackson is a great talent. But adding him isn’t the easiest thing to do, no matter how loud Bart Scott yells on ESPN. (Memo to Scott: Quit braying, “He’s the MVP! He’s the MVP!” Jackson was MVP in 2019 but hasn’t got a single vote for that award since.)

It’s not just ex-players carrying water for Jackson. A lot of journalists are, too, because agents are big-time sources. Favors get repaid.

The reality is that Jackson played chicken with Baltimore and with the system. He lost.

You can say it’s unfair, and it is. The franchise tag keeps free agency from being free. But the NFL Players Association keeps agreeing to it.

You can scream collusion, but it’s not. Collusion is secret. The Atlanta Falcons made an announcement on their website. Cleveland’s deal with Watson was so stupid, collusion wasn’t necessary. There’s nothing the least bit fishy about Jackson not being hotly pursued. He wants too much guaranteed.

Jackson might have to limp back to Baltimore and play for the $32.4 million prescribed by the non-exclusive franchise tag.

If he’s upset about that, that’s a rich-guy problem. Just like Jackson reportedly turning down a $250 million contract with $133 million guaranteed.

What happens from here largely depends on Jackson’s conceit. His ego’s been wounded.

Will Jackson accept what is and play? Or will he sit out and keep pushing for what won’t be?

Star quarterbacks make football go ’round — or so we’re constantly told. But perhaps they’re not worth the trouble.

The contract given Watson was absurd, the one Arizona gave Kyler Murray only slightly less so. What Denver traded for Russell Wilson combined with what he’s getting paid is outright Looney Tunes.

Aaron Rodgers is the king when it comes to vanity and insanity. If Rodgers goes to the New York Jets, the Jets still won’t win their division or a playoff game. So, what’s the point beyond trading too much, paying too much and a constant headache? (Jets die-hard Mike Greenberg of ESPN would be happy, however temporarily. He deserves that.)

Perhaps the best strategy is to draft a quarterback in the first round every five years. A quarterback’s second contract is too often a cap killer. Rookie contracts are affordable.

Then, unless that quarterback turns out to be Mahomes or a reasonable facsimile, don’t re-up him. Let him walk and draft another quarterback. Rinse and repeat. Spend to make the rest of your team strong.

According to Spotrac, Watson’s 2023 cap hit is $54.9 million. Dak Prescott’s is $49.1 million. Neither plays at a level worth half that. Neither has ever come close to winning.

Neither has Jackson.

Winning is what you’re paid for. It’s not fantasy league.