Buccaneers Showed Baker Mayfield The Money
June 5th, 2026
Big news today in a way many fans are not thinking.
Yes, Baker Mayfield revealed to local scribes that he and the Bucs “are not anywhere close” when it comes to the terms of a contract extension that would add years to Mayfield’s deal expiring after the 2026 season.
But the focus, Joe believes, should not be on the numbers Mayfield obviously doesn’t like. It should be on that the Bucs are willing to commit to Mayfield long term.
While Buccaneers Ring of Honor general manager Jason Licht has said publicly he’s interested in keeping Mayfield for several more years, it’s quite another thing to enter contract negotiations, which Mayfield confirmed have taken place.
Per Joe’s private conversations, It’s very safe to say that the Bucs did not deliver Mayfield an insulting offer. They love the guy and want him — but they’re also interested in a deal that’s in the best interests of both sides, as they should be.
In the Bucs’ back pocket is the franchise tag, projected to be $50 million for quarterbacks in 2027. Negotiations surely have that number in mind.
Mayfield could cry about being tagged, if it came to that. But if he did, there would be a long line of Bucs fans turning on Mayfield for moaning about having to play for $50 freaking million.
No team wants to deal with that kind of salary cap charge, but it still only would represent about 16 or 17 percent of the cap.
As Joe has written, there’s no reason to expect Mayfield to be gone in 2027. However, there was no reason for Mike Evans to want to leave with a fat contract on the table from an organization that worshipped him.