They say the NFL is a deadline-driven business. The new contract signed by Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence was not the product of any obvious deadline.
The deadline was, as a practical matter, continuous.
Some teams refuse to acknowledge that time is not on their side. Any given day could be the day that someone else signs a contract that sends the market higher. The Jaguars could have waited for other quarterbacks to get their contracts, or they could have just gotten it done.
They did it after only three seasons. They did it with two years left on his rookie deal. The five-year extension puts him under contract for seven years. The new-money average of $55 million will yield to a much lower number when the deal is evaluated from signing. (We’ll have the full details soon, hopefully.)
Regardless, if the Jaguars had waited, the price would have gone up. So once the Jaguars decided (as they clearly have) that Lawrence is their guy, the sooner they signed him, the cheaper it would be.
Yes, it’s fair to ask this question: Who were they bidding against? But if he’s their guy, it doesn’t matter. They don’t want to be in a position to be bidding against anyone for Lawrence.
This is the way to ensure it. At the best possible price.
