Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson isn’t very worried about his critics, and he pointed out Thursday that Jesus had critics, too.
During a Thursday presser, the 25-year-old 2019 MVP and Pro Bowl player was asked how he deals with all the negativity. And with his answer, Jackson brought Jesus of Nazareth into the equation.
“When you’re trying to be great, you’re trying to work your tail off, there’s gonna be negativity,” Jackson told reporters. “But you know they hated Jesus, and I’m not Jesus. So I don’t really worry about it.”
Jackson is in the final year of his initial contract with the Raves and will make $23 million this season. But even though he has said he hopes to be a Baltimore Raven for life, he and the team have still not settled on a new contract for 2023.
Jackson skipped the voluntary training camp this spring, though he did attend the mandatory camps afterward. But he added that he and the team are “still negotiating right now” for an extension.
Ominously, he also said there could be a “cutoff point” for the contract talks, hinting that things are not going so well.
The last time Jackson spoke off the cuff, though, he got in a bit of trouble. In March, he was heard telling the hosts of HBO’s The Barbershop that there is “still” a lot of racism in the NFL against black quarterbacks. “It’s still there. That’s why I need that championship,” he said when LeBron James asserted that the racism “Is dying off, but it’s still there.”
However, after the sports media reported on Jackson’s comments, he disputed the quote and accused reporters of trying to stir controversy.
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