“Mike, why bro?”
Sort of lost in the mystery of why Mike Evans took a massive paycut to pay a 13.3 percent state income tax rate to play with the 49ers is, “What does Baker Mayfield think of this?”
We now know.
Those two guys were tight, Evans and Mayfield, or at least they were supposed to be. When Evans signed a new deal with the Bucs in 2023, he did so, in part, because he knew Mayfield would be slinging passes his way.
Mayfield was very diplomatic discussing his contract situation yesterday. But when discussing Evans’ departure, he tried to put a good face on the situation but it was obvious it stings Mayfield.
“There’s no way to sugarcoat it — it’s disappointing to not have him back,” said Mayfield, who conveyed his disappointment by sending teammate Chris Godwin a text message with a sad face emoji, ESPN’s Jenna Laine typed. “Just the caliber of player he is — he’s a Hall of Famer — I thought, you know, he deserved to be a Buc for life. Things happen. But luckily, him and I have a great relationship. Still good friends for life. I’ll be cheering him on except when we play them, if it comes down to it.”
Well, it wasn’t like the Bucs didn’t try to keep Evans. Joe was told months ago Evans was offered more than $20 million to stay in 2026.
Instead, Evans took a massive paycut to get out of town.
Something moved Evans to leave, and Joe doesn’t believe it’s California’s second-rate strawberries. The Bucs cling to the generic “family decision” line. They’re tight-lipped about specifics.
Joe is convinced that until the real truth of why Evans turned his back on both the franchise and his close friends is revealed, Joe is sure this move already likely cost the Bucs Trey Hendrickson and who knows what other free agents — guys that were or will be soured on the Bucs because one of the team’s greatest players really, really, really wanted to wash his hands of the team.
(You better believe some agents of prospective 2027 free agents already have counseled their clients, “Be careful with Tampa. Mike Evans threw away a small fortune just to get away.”)
And Joe doesn’t think Evans leaving as simple as “third-and-28,” though that likely could have been a factor.