Ballard throws fuel on the Lamar Jackson-to-Colts fire

[Racehorse]

Originally Posted by Chaka

In a free market they will happen, beginning with the QBs. Maybe not with Jackson, but are you saying you'd say no to Mahomes for 5 years, $250M fully guaranteed?

To me, it's really about contract length and engineering more than anything. Now we have contracts that are announced as five year deals, but are really two or three year fully guaranteed contracts with option years attached. Those extra years are added to manipulate the salary cap, and money is moved around freely to squeeze a team under the cap in a given year. A fully guaranteed contract would take away some of the flexibility out of the GM's hands. In the end, though, its still about managing the cap. Teams will still have the same amount of money to spend in the end, unlike other sports.

This would limit money for other players.