In contract limbo due to lockout, Eagles' Jackson waits

The NFL lockout has meant frustration for owners, players, and fans alike. But perhaps no one has lost as much to the league's labor spat than Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson.

A second-round pick who almost instantly emerged as one of the game's most dynamic offensive weapons, Jackson is now in the midst of a second summer of contract limbo preventing him from landing the millions that would almost certainly come his way under normal circumstances.

Last year, it was the expiring collective-bargaining agreement that created leaguewide uncertainty - making teams reluctant to spend - and quirky contract rules that barred the Eagles from giving him a significant raise. This year, it's a shutdown of NFL business. No players are getting paid. None are getting traded.

For Jackson, it means more waiting, though he professed calm about the situation when asked about it recently, saying he has confidence that his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, will make things happen when the time comes.

"I think the Eagles know how valuable I am," Jackson said.

While he waits, Jackson said he is taking advantage of the looser offseason to spend more time on kids' football camps and his foundation to fight pancreatic cancer.

"I've been able to focus on the foundation," Jackson said on May 13, hours before his second gala to benefit the DeSean Jackson Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer.

For days he made the media rounds in Philadelphia, promoting the event and putting his name back in headlines for the first time since January.

The gala, which drew roughly a dozen Eagles in a mini offseason reunion, was personal for Jackson as he tried to raise money for a disease that took his father's life in 2009. While it's a reminder of a sad moment, Jackson also hoped it would honor his father, William.

"I kind of want it to be more uplifting," Jackson said.

Jackson, whose itinerary has had him in Los Angeles, Atlanta, Miami, and Philadelphia, among other places, said the offseason has been relaxing. He's working out with a trainer back home.

In Philadelphia for the gala, he had time to see quarterback Michael Vick, though the two have not practiced together since last season.

Add that to the list of things in this offseason of labor strife that will just have to wait.