Getty Lamar Jackson during the Ravens playoff game.
Baltimore Ravens quarterback, Lamar Jackson is one of the most electrifying players in the NFL.
The NFL’s reigning MVP, the former Heisman trophy winner was the 32nd overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft and his stats this season were insane. Jackson threw for 3,127 yards, had a 66% completion rating and threw for 36 touchdowns.
On his feet, Lamar Jackson, a one time Lousiville Cardinal standout was just as electrifying. In 15 games this season, Jackson earned 1,206 rushing yards and scored seven touchdowns.
He was worth the price of admission this season and his peers are taking notice.
“He’s been balling,” former NBA Slam Dunk Champion, Nate Robinson told me on the Scoop B Radio Podcast.
“They have to throw him the bag; a well-deserved one. MVP leading all quarterbacks, he’s probably leading the running backs.”
“People sitting at home watching Lamar Jackson think: ‘how is he doing all this stuff,” retired New York Giants, NFL legend, turned NFL analyst, Michael Strahan said recently.
“I mean everything with Lamar Jackson is just absolutely amazing, watch his juke here has the DB that is supposed to keep outside containment. Sales him with that look making the guy think he is going inside, [but] gives him that euro step leaving him some change and Deutschmarks. He gets out there to the corner.”
Meanwhile back at the ranch: if you played fantasy football you were a winner, but how does that benefits ones pockets for those betting on games?
That’s a work in progress, according to the Wall Street Journal who recognizes the NFL’s stance on pushing back against the expansion of sports betting out of fears that it could challenge the game’s integrity.
WSJ also recognizes that in recent years, the NFL has done an about-face as it ceased to see the expansion of sports betting as a threat and increasingly saw it as an opportunity to engage younger audiences and connect with people who follow sports on their phones.
For those keeping score at home: That change of heart came as the U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling in 2018 that allowed states beyond Nevada to legalize sports betting.
So what’s next? “Long overdue though it is, betting expert, James Murphy wrote in his latest piece via Sports Insider.
“The NFL has finally seen the writing on the wall,” says Murphy.
“Americans want the freedom to bet on sports. The NFL fanbase wants the freedom to bet on sports. Opposing that was no longer a tenable position.
“The more that major players in the sports and media world embrace sports betting, the more difficult it is for state governments to deny citizens access. It also makes it more difficult for them to serve up a watered down sports betting product as a lottery gimmick game. When their constituents start to ask ‘why don’t we have the same options as neighboring states’ it will definitely resonate.”