Lawrence’s deal isn’t as good as it seems

Although it may have gone back to Mark Twain, Harry Truman popularized the phrase that there are three kinds of lies – lies, damn lies and statistics.

A fourth category could be NFL quarterback contracts.

Quarterbacks are getting big contracts these days, but they always aren’t what they seem.

The five-year contract extension that Trevor Lawrence signed for $275 million raised a few eyebrows because he suffered four injuries last year and lost his last five starts after an 8-3 beginning. The Jaguars’ only victory the last six weeks came when they beat Carolina with C.J. Beathard at quarterback. It showed the Jaguars still have confidence in him that he will become an elite quarterback.

At first glance, it tied the $275 million deal that Joe Burrow got for a five-year extension for the best deal.

But at a closer look the deal wasn’t as good as the one Burrow signed. Burrow got $219 million in guaranteed money while Lawrence got $142 million in guaranteed money, although injury guarantees bring it up to $200 million.

On top of that, former Green Bay executive Andrew Brandt did a breakdown on the cash Lawrence is getting and it is generally at the bottom of the recent quarterback contracts.

First year: Lawrence gets $39 million while Jared Goff got $80.6 million, Lamar Jackson $50 million, Kirk Cousins $62 million, Daniel Jones $46 million and Burrow $45 million.

Second year: Lawrence gets $76 million the first two years. Jackson and Burrow get $111 million, Goff $98 million, Deshaun Watson $92 million and Cousins $90 million.

Third year: Lawrence gets $114 over first three years. Jackson gets $115 million, Goff $153, Burrow $146 million, Jones $160 million and Herbert $157 million.

Fourth year: Lawrence gets $155 million over the first four years. Jackson $207 million, Golf $193 million, Burrow $181 million Jones $160 million, and Herbert $157 million.

Lawrence still got a good deal  considered considering he was coming off a disappointing third season, but both sides decided to make it look better than it really is by adding two non-guaranteed years at the end worth almost $104 million. There is no guarantee Lawrence will ever see that money.

Now it will be interesting to see what kind of contracts quarterbacks like Tua Tagovailoa, Jordan Love and Dak Prescott get going forward.

Whatever they get, ignore the overall figure. Check the guarantees and the year-by-year cash figure to determine how good their deals are.