Quarterback Lamar Jackson responded to reports about a man named Ken Francis tried to contact multiple NFL teams to negotiate a contract for him.
In the midst of free agency and the draft, the NFL world has been shaken to its core over the “Ken Francis” saga.
On Thursday, the NFL Management Council sent out a memo informing teams not to negotiate with Francis, who they claim had been trying to get teams to enter contract talks with Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson. The reason why is he’s not a certified agent.
Things only got more bizarre, as NFL Network insider Tom Pelissero reported that Francis was a Florida man who “recently was pitching a home fitness invention.” Is your head spinning too?
Jackson responded to this weird series of reports, saying that Francis was never trying to negotiate for him. The 2019 NFL MVP then posted a meme of actor Ben Affleck smoking a cigarette, but wearing a Jackson Ravens jersey.
Lamar Jackson denies Ken Francis tried to negotiate contracts for him
Francis spoke to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, saying he doesn’t speak for Jackson. Francis also told ESPN that he’s “business partners with Jackson on portable gym equipment and that’s the extent of their business dealings.”
Speaking of, Jackson later tweeted out a video advertisement for the aforementioned portable gym equipment, called “The Entire Gym,” which drops this summer.
This offseason, the Ravens placed the non-exclusive franchise tag on Jackson, which means that other teams can negotiate an offer sheet with him. The Ravens would then have the opportunity to match it or decline it and acquire two first-round picks from the interested team.
But, Jackson doesn’t have an agent. The NFL Management Council noted in their memo to teams that an offer sheet “may only be negotiated with the player, if he is acting on his own behalf, or with the player’s NFLPA certified agent.” The memo also states that the violating of the rule would result in “disapproval of any offer sheet or resulting player contract.”
With all of the talk about Ken Francis, Jackson provided his thoughts on Twitter about the whole situation and an advertisement for his portable gym equipment dropping this summer.
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Author: Scott Rogust
March 23, 2023 | 10:23 pm
