The city of Tampa – and the surrounding Tampa Bay area – was elated with joy on Monday when the news broke that the Bucs had re-signed wide receiver Chris Godwin to a three-year deal worth $66 million and $45 million. It solidifies that the Bucs will have a top target in Godwin for years to come and he can continue to build his own legacy while securing a pipeline of great receivers in the organization.
What also comes of this is another example of how Tampa Bay is able to retain its own time and time again. It began after they won the Super Bowl in 2020, it was highlighted last offseason when the team brought back Baker Mayfield, Mike Evans and Lavonte David, and it was confirmed again in 2025 on Monday with David again, Ben Bredeson and Godwin.
Chris Godwin Left Money On The Table
Bucs Wr Chris Godwin
Bucs WR Chris Godwin – Photo by: USA Today
Another aspect that may add to Chris Godwin’s legacy in Tampa Bay is the fact that it looks like he took less money to return to the Bucs. Make no mistake, earning $22 million a season over three years with $45 million guaranteed is a lot of money. But Godwin was also set to be the top free agent wide receiver available with the talent dropping off pretty far after him, so he certainly could’ve played the market and went to the highest bidder.
According to Ian Rapoport during an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show, Godwin turned down as much as an extra $20 million from another team – believed to be the New England Patriots – to come back to Tampa.
“There’s a lot of guys that took less money to stay,” Rapoport said. “Chris Godwin from my understanding left about 20 million dollars on the table. It’s pretty cool to see for Chris Godwin, who left a lot of money on the table, I know New England was in that pretty heavy. If you like where you are and they tug at the heart strings and they do everything they can to get you to stay, a lot of times it’s hard to say no. And I think that’s what we’re seeing here. ”
Bucs, Chris Godwin Were Always The Best Fit
Bucs Wr Chris Godwin Baker Mayfield
Bucs WR Chris Godwin – Photo by: USA Today
Chris Godwin has every reason to return back to the Bucs despite maybe taking some less money. His 576 receiving yards through seven games was top three in the league last year at the time until his season-ending injury. Godwin’s five touchdown receptions had matched what he had done in the previous two seasons combined.
While future Hall of Famer Mike Evans gets most of the headlines for very good reasons, there have been several occasions where Godwin has been the driving force of the offense. That won’t be any different with former offensive coordinator Liam Coen moving on to be the head coach of the Jaguars and Josh Grizzard taking over as Tampa Bay’s offensive play-caller.
Tampa Bay is also returning its entire offense from a season. That means Godwin gets to have quarterback Baker Mayfield throwing him the ball again, Evans receiving a lot of attention from opponents and a rushing attack that was a top 5-unit last year being able to open up everything for the rest of the offense. Plus, Tampa Bay has the made postseason the last five years and is looking to push back into the status of Super Bowl contender.
While quarterback Drake Maye had a solid rookie season, there are still a lot of places on offense that New England needs to put together, and even with Godwin the Patriots couldn’t be nearly as good as what Tampa Bay has to offer as as an offensive unit.
Chris Godwin is a future Bucs Ring of Honor member in Tampa Bay. He means a lot of to the community and Tampa Bay fans. Based on this latest signing and what he did to return, it’s apparent that his legacy with the team means a lot to him, too.
Pewter Report analyzed the re-signing of Chris Godwin, Lavonte David and Ben Bredeson, and the new signing of Haason Reddick on the latest Pewter Report Podcast. Subscribe to our PewterReportTV YouTube Channel.