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The Lamar Jackson saga has taken some unimaginable twists and turns, however nothing tops every part that went down on Thursday night time. Earlier this week studies emerged that somebody was contacting groups on Jackson’s behalf, and this particular person wasn’t an agent registered with the NFL Gamers Affiliation (NFLPA). On Thursday we probably realized their title, and this was simply the tip of the iceberg.
Up so far Jackson has been largely representing himself. The CBA permits for gamers to barter on their very own, but when anybody else is concerned within the negotiation course of they must be a registered agent with the NFLPA. This can be a safeguard to guard gamers from exterior events who may look to make monetary acquire off a participant’s contract, with out the participant’s greatest pursuits at coronary heart.
Rumors swirled that it may very well be Saint Omni, the elusive NFL fixer who labored on behalf of Roquan Smith a 12 months in the past, and has just lately been hooked up to Laremy Tunsil, in addition to a number of different gamers. Omni isn’t a licensed agent by the NFLPA, however has a document of involving himself in troublesome contract negotiations solely to see them resolved inside a number of days.
It turns Lamar wasn’t being repped by Omni although, and it’s right here issues bought quite a bit weirder. On Thursday night the NFLPA despatched a memo to groups instructing them to not do enterprise with a “Ken Francis,” saying that Francis was engaged on behalf of Jackson, and any supply sheet hooked up to Francis’ involvement may very well be discovered void.
Instantly folks started looking for out who Ken Francis is. This can be a title which has by no means been talked about in NFL circles earlier than, not to mention hooked up to one of many largest title quarterbacks within the NFL. A now-deleted LinkedIn profile for Francis confirmed him because the Florida-based CEO of “The Complete Health club,” a conveyable house exercise machine with a Bluetooth speaker hooked up, as a result of why not?
Whereas folks have been making an attempt to work out how, and why this man was contacting NFL groups about Jackson, the quarterback himself took to Twitter to disclaim that Ken Francis was working on his behalf.
At this level issues bought actually bizarre. The NFLPA wouldn’t have talked about Francis by title except that they had proof he was contacting groups about Jackson. I imply, it’s not like they randomly picked a reputation and advised groups to not talk about Lamar with this man. So was Ken Francis a rogue actor? Did Lamar get catfished by a pretend agent? Did Jackson really do not know who this man was? The chances have been infinite, however ultimately the true reply is a lot more unusual than anybody may have anticipated when Jackson later posted this.
So Ken Francis, CEO of “The Complete Health club,” who the NFLPA advised groups to not speak to, not solely is aware of Lamar, however the two are enterprise companions on the exercise gear itself. Jackson, turning all the eye on Ken into an opportunity for advertising, used the chance to drop a teaser video for “The Complete Health club,” saying it might come “this Summer time.”
Okay, what the hell is going on?
Your guess is pretty much as good as anybody’s however there’s actually solely three prospects at this level:
No. 1: This was all a misunderstanding
Admittedly this sounds actually implausible, however there’s a likelihood groups didn’t perceive why Francis was contacting them. Think about for a second if he was calling round to debate “The Complete Health club” and talked about that he was an affiliate of Lamar Jackson. It’s not exterior the realm of risk to think about a workforce assuming he was reaching out on behalf of Jackson and his contract, not a cross promotion for the train gear. That would have gotten this complete ball rolling.
No. 2: Lamar Jackson and Ken Francis bought caught
Negotiating an NFL contract for your self is troublesome, and emotionally draining. There’s a cause gamers use brokers or go-betweens, and it’s to insulate themselves from troublesome conversations about participant sturdiness, efficiency ceilings, and legit considerations groups have about whether or not giving large cash to a participant is value it for the long-term monetary well being of their steadiness sheet. It’s solely doable that Jackson, having a previous enterprise relationship with Francis, had him contact groups on his behalf — probably not figuring out that this can be a massive deal. The duo bought caught, and at the moment are making an attempt to backtrack.
No. 3: This whole mess was all viral advertising for “The Complete Health club”
That is each the wildest state of affairs, and likewise feels just like the most probably. This could imply that Ken Francis contacting groups for Lamar was all an organized plan to get his title trending. Then, when every part was at a fever pitch they’d drop the trailer for “The Complete Health club” to get folks concerned with it.
As bizarre as that is, till Thursday night time no person actually knew that Lamar Jackson was concerned with “The Complete Health club.” They do now. It appears mind-bogglingly silly to jeopardize NFL contract negotiations over advertising train gear, however we’ve seen weirder issues up to now.
Heck, it’s not the primary time we’ve seen the NFL and peculiar merchandise combine.
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