I’m surprised that so many sports writers and fans here defend Lamar Jackson and the guaranteed contract princess demand he’s making. It’s as if he’s striding to the peak of player-wisdom mountain and defeating the evil owners.

Nothing could be more wrong.

It’s not Jackson and the superstars that pull $25 to $45m annual pay that need guarantees. The theory that those players set the market and every player wins has some merit but it’s small. Teams that guarantee $50m annually to a qb or $80m to their top 3 players do not then also grow or guarantee the pay scale for the 53rd or 50th or even the 40th player in the roster. This is true in the current NFL and all(?) professional sports; it’s the opposite.

And, what if a young qb gets a 6 year $300m contract and sucks 18 months later? Too bad fans and too bad other players; you just have to wait another 4.5 years to return to team building. It must be meritocracy; you suck; you out. Tenure is rare in labor. Risk factor is already built into the money they make.