With his trade demand from the Baltimore Ravens, Lamar Jackson created a huge buzz in the NFL in early March. Now he’s speaking out about why.

It was one of the big excitement topics at the beginning of the NFL offseason: Lamar Jackson had officially demanded a trade from the Baltimore Ravens at the beginning of March.

At first, nothing was known about the background of this demand for a long time. Now, more than a week after the star quarterback had extended his contract with the Ravens, the 26-year-old revealed his motives.

Jackson: “Just got the ball rolling “

He had wanted to restart negotiations with the Ravens, who were at an impasse at the time, he told the Ravens podcast “The Lounge.”

The demand, he said, was part of his negotiating tactics. “I asked for a trade, but it wasn’t anything serious,” Jackson said on the podcast. “I just got the ball rolling. That’s part of the deal. But I’m satisfied. It’s in the past. “

Even at the official press conference on the occasion of his new monster deal, he had been asked about his trade demand. At the time, however, he had avoided giving a real answer.

“Today we’re going to leave it at the future,” Jackson had said. “I’m not going to worry about what happened in the past.”

Jackson had signed a five-year contract extension with the Ravens on April 27. The new deal will pay him up to $260 million in total. So a year he will get up to $52 million on average – more than any other NFL pro.