Lamar Jackson and the Ravens' contract standoff took its first concrete step on Tuesday when Baltimore placed the nonexclusive franchise tag on its starting QB, Axios' Jeff Tracy writes.

Why it matters: Baltimore is rolling the dice, betting that Jackson won't find a better deal elsewhere but also opening itself up to the possibility of losing its 26-year-old former MVP.

How it works: Teams can use one franchise tag per year on an impending free agent, locking that player into a one-year deal at a predetermined salary (based on positional comps).

Details: There are two types of tags: exclusive ($45 million for QBs this season) and nonexclusive ($32.4 million).

• The exclusive tag gives teams exclusive negotiating rights. Players can either accept the tag, work toward a new long-term deal or simply refuse to play.
• The nonexclusive tag is cheaper but comes with risks, allowing the player to negotiate with other teams (though their original team can still match any deal).

Where it stands: If Jackson signs an offer sheet from another team, the Ravens have five days to match it. If they choose not to, they'll receive two first-round picks from Jackson's new team.

The question: Why would the Ravens risk losing a franchise player this young and this talented?

The answer: They likely believe the chances of that happening are very low.

• Jackson reportedly wants a fully guaranteed contract despite missing 10 games over the last two seasons.
• The nonexclusive tag is essentially the Ravens telling Jackson that they don't want to give him that deal, and they don’t think anyone else will, either.

The big picture: Numerous teams with holes at QB have publicly said they aren't interested in signing Jackson, leading to speculation that collusion is afoot.

• Some believe owners are working together to ensure that Jackson doesn't get the fully guaranteed contract he's seeking.
• Why? To ensure the fully guaranteed deal Deshaun Watson controversially received last year remains an outlier, and doesn't become a precedent.

Between the lines: Jackson and the Ravens have been stuck at an impasse for so long that Baltimore could be using this tactic to simply find out what Jackson's actual market is.

• In other words, let someone else negotiate for a bit, and if they're able to come to an agreement, then the Ravens can swoop in and match it anyway.

What to watch: This is just the fourth nonexclusive tag given to a QB this century. None of the other three got signed to an offer sheet by another team.

The bottom line: An in-his-prime player at the sport's most important position just became available for nothing more than a fair contract and a couple draft picks. What comes next will likely say more about the league than the player.

"I'm not Derek Jeter. There will be no farewell tour," Jim Boeheim said in 2015. There sure wasn't.

Driving the news: Following Syracuse's last-second loss to Wake Forest on Wednesday in the second round of the ACC Tournament, Boeheim said it was "up to the university" to decide his future.

• A few hours later, Syracuse announced that associate head coach Adrian Autry would succeed Boeheim next season.
• It's still unclear whether he retired or was fired — a strange way for his Hall of Fame career to end.

By the numbers: Boeheim, 78, coached the Orange for 47 seasons, winning 1,015 games (second-most in D-I history), making five Final Fours and winning one national championship (2003).

What they're saying: "Not many coaches earn the right to choose their exit. Boeheim is one of them," author John Feinstein wrote in the Washington Post, criticizing Syracuse for seemingly forcing a legend out.

• "I wish there was a better finish ... I would've liked to see more love between all parties," tweeted Dick Vitale.
• "It seemed like a very cold ending for a man that bled Orange for six decades."

The other side: Plenty of Syracuse faithful had grown impatient with Boeheim's prolonged tenure and poor results of late.

• Retirement rumors have swirled for decades, and Boeheim was set to retire in 2018 before changing his mind so he could coach his sons, Buddy and Jimmy.
• The Orange went 33-32 over the past two seasons and will miss their second straight NCAA Tournament.

The backdrop: Boeheim is the fourth Hall of Fame coach to leave the men's D-I ranks in the last three seasons, following Roy Williams, Mike Krzyzewski and Jay Wright.

Go deeper: Boeheim's 10 greatest moments at Syracuse (ESPN)

The NBA season ends exactly one month from today. How are you feeling about your team?

Go deeper: Nine big questions for the NBA's stretch run (The Ringer)

⚽️ Barça face charges: Prosecutors are seeking corruption charges against Barcelona regarding $7 million in payments made to a referee. The club denies any claims of match-fixing.

🏀 Adams steps down: Texas Tech men's basketball coach Mark Adams, who was suspended earlier this week for a "racially insensitive" comment, has stepped down.

🏀 No charges for Ja: Ja Morant will not face criminal charges for the recent incident in which he appeared to flash a gun on Instagram. He'll remain away from the team for at least the next four games.

⚾️ The 99 club: Five players have a 99 rating (highest possible) in "MLB The Show 23," which releases later this month: Shohei Ohtani, Mike Trout, Aaron Judge, Paul Goldschmidt and Jacob deGrom.

Merrimack won the men's Northeast Conference Tournament on Tuesday, which normally earns a trip to March Madness. Instead, their season is over, Jeff writes.

State of play: Merrimack is one of 11 programs in the midst of a four-year transition period to D-I, during which time they're ineligible for the NCAA Tournament.

• This is the third straight year a team fell prey to the rule, with Merrimack joining the Bellarmine men (ASUN, 2022) and California Baptist women (WAC, 2021).
• Three more such teams are still alive in their conference tournaments, and could add to that tally: the Tarleton State and Utah Tech men, and the Merrimack women.

Between the lines: The reason for the rule is "to protect universities from taking on more expense than they can handle," an NCAA spokesperson told NYT, alluding to the added financial rigors that D-I presents compared to lower divisions.

Yes, but: That rationale feels flimsy at best — if the team is in D-I, let them play! There is, however, another reason that makes more sense: limiting dilution.

• There are over 350 D-I programs, which means the chasm in talent from top to bottom is already pretty wide.
• Without the four-year transition period, even more teams might try to make the move, resulting in a worse product.
• If anything, there should probably be fewer teams in D-I, not more.

Looking ahead: This was Merrimack's final year of ineligibility, so if they run it back next year, they'll get to go dancing. But head coach Joe Gallo wants the rule changed for whoever comes next:

• "I hope moving forward for the kids' sake, something is done about it, because [with a four-year transition] ... you're basically telling a kid 'You can't compete in the postseason for your whole career.'"

Two basketball players from Brown are suing the Ivy League over its no-scholarship policy.

Driving the news: A federal lawsuit was filed Tuesday on behalf of Grace Kirk, a current member of Brown's women's team, and Tamenang Choh, a standout player for the men's team from 2017 to 2022.

The backdrop: The eight Ivy League schools — Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Penn, Princeton and Yale — do not offer merit-based scholarships. They only award aid to students based on financial needs.

• The lawsuit argues that this policy, which dates back to 1954 and is unique among D-I conferences, denies athletes proper financial aid and compensation.
• The suit alleges that the Ivies are engaging in illegal price fixing, and that the same rules that apply to the rest of D-I should apply to the Ivies as well.

By the numbers: D-I and D-II schools award over $3.7 billion in athletic scholarships annually to nearly 190,000 students, per the NCAA.

MUNICH — Lionel Messi has now failed to reach the Champions League quarterfinals in three straight seasons after Bayern Munich knocked out PSG on Wednesday.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Team USA played its first exhibition game on Wednesday ahead of the World Baseball Classic. It didn't go great, as they fell 5-1 to the Giants.

NEW YORK — Big East mascots visited the Empire State Building ahead of the men's conference basketball tournament at Madison Square Garden.

The Players Championship tees off today (6:45am ET, ESPN+; 12pm, Golf) at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.

• By the numbers: The $25 million purse is the largest in Tour history (excluding playoffs), as is the $4.5 million prize for first place.
• The backdrop: Five of the top 10 finishers from last year — including reigning champion Cameron Smith — are missing from this year's field because they've since made the jump to LIV.

More to watch:

• 🏀 NBA: Warriors at Grizzlies (7:30pm, TNT); Knicks at Kings (10pm, TNT)
• 🏒 NHL: Oilers at Bruins (7:30pm, ESPN+) ... The best player (Connor McDavid) vs. the best team.
• 🏀 NCAAW: Southland final (5pm, ESPNU); AAC final (9pm, ESPNU)
• 🏀 NCAAM: 57 games (11am-11:30pm) ... No finals today, but power conference tournaments are underway.
• 🎾 Tennis: BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells (2pm, Tennis)
• ⚾️ WBC: Italy vs. Cuba (6am, TUBI); Czech Republic vs. China (10pm, TUBI); Cuba vs. Panama (11:30pm, FS1)
• ⚾️ WBC exhibition: Team USA vs. Angels (3pm, MLB)

Jim Boeheim became Syracuse's head coach way back in 1976.

• Question: Who was the U.S. president at that time?
• Hint: He was also involved in college athletics (played football).

Answer at the bottom.

Cal men's basketball just wrapped up a truly horrendous campaign, finishing with the worst record in the nation (3-29).

State of play: The Golden Bears were one of 11 men's teams with five or fewer wins this season.

• Cal: 3-29
• Green Bay: 3-29
• Long Island U: 3-26
• Louisville: 4-28
• Presbyterian: 5-27
• IUPUI: 5-27
• Mississippi Valley State: 5-27
• Evansville: 5-27
• South Carolina State: 5-26
• Tulsa: 5-24*
• Hartford: 5-23

*They play tonight, so they could still exceed five wins.