Jackson is believed to be seeking a deal at least comparable to the fully guaranteed, five-year, $230 million contract quarterback Deshaun Watson signed last offseason with the Cleveland Browns.

Two prominent quarterbacks — the Arizona Cardinals’ Kyler Murray and the Denver Broncos’ Russell Wilson — signed lucrative, non-guaranteed contract extensions following Watson’s deal with the Browns.

“Why did [Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk] Cousins and Watson get fully guaranteed contracts while others didn’t?” Smith wrote in an essay on the union’s website.

“Or to be more specific, why have the Baltimore Ravens and other teams publicly (at least initially) made such a point to say they are not going to compensate Lamar Jackson with a fully guaranteed contract like Cousins or Watson?

Let’s be clear, in my nearly 15-year career as Executive Director, I have never witnessed teams being so quick to publicly announce their lack of interest in an MVP quarterback, who is in his prime and who is also going to get an injury guarantee, regardless of his contract.”

The CBA, however, says that teams can be found guilty of collusion only with evidence of them conspiring improperly, not based merely on a lack of contract offers and the skill of the player involved.