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If Jonathan Jennings starts all 18 games for the BC Lions this season and leads the team to the Grey Cup, he will earn $110,000 this season. By far, the lowest of any projected Day One starting quarterback in the CFL. And if he gets injured early in the season, that number will drop to just $55,000.
Jennings has two years left on his entry-level contract, meaning the Lions have all the leverage - for now. But while general manager and head coach Wally Buono still doesn't want to be pinned down to a timeline, he realizes that it might be best to get a deal done sooner rather than later.
"I don't want this becoming a distraction and it's becoming a distraction,” said Buono. “We'd like to get him to a bridge contract and want to make sure that both the player and club are taken care of."
There have been suggestions in recent weeks that Jennings’ new agent, Bardia Gharemenia, would encourage his client to hold out if the Lions wouldn’t pony up, but Gharemenia doesn’t want to go there.
“Holding out is not a good option for a young quarterback. He needs to play at this stage of his career and he wants to be there for the start of camp,” said Gharemenia.