Lamar Jackson and His Lesser Know Facts
#10. Jackson grew up in Boynton Beach, Florida, where he played Pop Warner football. During his time playing Pop, he competed against some other notable NFL players. Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Calvin Ridley and future Baltimore Ravens teammate Marquise Brown both played against Jackson as kids. He also played against Oakland Raiders corner back Trayvon Mullen. The Boynton Beach area is a hot-bed of young footballers and has been a breeding ground for gridiron stars for a long time.
#9. During Jackson’s 2018 NFL rookie season, he launched his own sportswear line known as Era 8 Apparel.
The company’s website began selling T-Shirts, hats, hoodies, socks, iPhone cases, and mugs when it opened.
According to Fanatics, Era 8 sold more items than any other professional athlete’s sportswear brand on Cyber Monday 2019.
#8. As we all know; Jackson was voted the He is man Trophy winner in 2016 as he threw for 30 touchdowns and ran for 21 more. His numbers were just as good in 2017 and it was a crime that Jackson didn’t win the Heisman Trophy for a second straight season as he threw for 27 touchdowns and ran for 18. When Jackson won the 2016 Heisman award, he celebrated in style. At least in as much style as a 19-year-oldcan. Rumor has it that Jackson celebrated with chicken wings and mozzarella sticks.
#7. Jackson is a speedster. He ran for 50 touchdowns at Louisville and is a true dual threat for Baltimore although he doesn’t run the ball as much as in college. Jackson’s speed made him the fastest ever quarterback in the Madden videogame franchise. Originally starting with a sprint speed rating of 94 for the 2019 edition of Madden, upgrades during the NFL season altered his speed to96 thanks to some brilliant runs on the gridiron. The updated speed stats allowed Jackson to top his childhood quarterback idol Michael Vick as fastest quarterback of all-time.
#6. Speaking of Jackson’s speed, in 2019, he broke Michael Vick’s record for the most rushing yards by a quarterback in a single season. Playing against the New York Jets, Jackson broke Vick’s record on a five-yard run in the game’s first quarter as Baltimore went on to win 42-21. Jackson broke Vick’s single-season mark of 1,039 yards, which was set in 2006. Jackson finished the season with 1,206 rushing yards.
#5. The amount of NFL scouts, coaches, and executives that verbally hated on Jackson prior to the 2018 NFL Draft is comical. What makes it even more ridiculous is that Jackson was criticized despite fellow 2018 draftee Baker Mayfield having extreme character flaws. Yet, Mayfield was drafted No.1 overall.
The unnamed coach stated Jackson is “Awesome athlete. He will not be able to play (quarterback)in this league, mark my words. When he throws, he hopes. ” It was a remark that the offensive coordinator certainly now regrets. Of course, it is easy to believe that some of the views of NFL executives could have been racially motivated.
#4. Even before Jackson was at Louisville running rings around defenders, videos of him were going viral.
A video of Jackson scrambling for a touch down went viral on Vine. In the video, Jackson stopped on a dime as a defender flew right past him. Jackson then casually walked into the end zone for the touchdown. He has been doing even more incredible scrambles out of the pocket since moving to college and the pros.
#3. In August of 2020, Jackson finally signed his first ever sponsorship deal. It wasn’t with Nike, Adidas, or Under Armour, however, which he doesn’t have a shoe deal yet. Jackson’s sponsorship deal is with sunglass manufacturer Oakley. The company has signed a number of budding NFL stars and Jackson is one of the brightest players to ink a deal with the brand to wear their visors on his facemask.
#2. Although Jackson is incredibly secretive about his personal life and is media shy; we do know that his girlfriend is Jamie Taylor. The two met at the University of Louisville where Jackson starred as the Cardinals’ quarterback.
The two met in 2017 and have been together ever since. Jackson does not post any pictures of Taylor on social media and has thus far kept her out of the limelight. Unfortunately, even in 2020, Taylor largely remains a mystery and much of that is due to the media not seeing images of her with Jackson on his social media.
In addition, little is known about what she does.
#1. Jackson has been the Baltimore Ravens main man since being drafted 32nd overall in the 2018 NFL Draft and playing for the injured Joe Flacco. In spite of being the Ravens’ starting quarter back, he makes just a paltry $1.34 million in 2020.
Jackson won the NFL MVP award in 2019 as he threw for 36 touchdowns and compiled a 13-2 record in 15 games for the Ravens. Remarkably, Jackson was paid just over $900,000for the entire season.
It is a good thing Jackson’s 2018 signing bonus was worth $4.9 million. He won’t be an unrestricted free agent until2022 which means it may be some time before he is shown the money like Rod Tidwell.
Jackson’s 2020 salary doesn’t even make him one of the NFL’s top 22 highest paid quarterbacks.