Trevor Lawrence will be the man in Jacksonville for the future after inking a new five-year, $275 million contract extension with the team on Thursday night.
A full $200 million of that total is guaranteed, which will once again raise the bar for how elite NFL quarterbacks are compensated.
This is not to say that Lawrence is elite, not yet, anyway.
But the fourth-year quarterback out of Clemson is now unquestionably the team’s leader, and with that designation comes the added pressure of a city’s expectations.
Jaguars reporter Hays Carlyon laid down the gauntlet for the newly enriched Lawrence: “Congratulations, now deliver a championship.”
Huge deal for Trevor. Congratulations, now deliver a championship. https://t.co/kH8IICJ29R
— Hays Carlyon (@HaysCarlyon) June 13, 2024
The weight of expectations is clearly on Lawrence’s shoulders, which is not surprising as he was the first player selected in the 2021 NFL Draft.
After a tumultuous rookie season under the misguidance of former head coach Urban Meyer, Lawrence settled into a successful though uneven role on the team.
He led the Jags to a second-half resurgence in 2022, which culminated in a postseason berth and a historic comeback victory over the Los Angeles Chargers.
But last year was the opposite tale, as a strong start was squandered down the stretch, and the team watched the NFL playoffs from home.
However, any questions as to Jacksonville’s commitment to and belief in Lawrence were settled 275 million times this week.
And while setting the expectation of bringing home a championship may be a bit high at this point, this is the kind of pressure Lawrence accepted when he inked the massive new deal this week.
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