There is a common misconception when it comes Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield.
When Mayfield signed a three-year, $100 million extension during the 2024 offseason, analysts compared the deal to similar agreements made by Geno Smith in Seattle (three-years, $75 million).
Mayfield was coming off a season in which he helped the Buccaneers reach the divisional round of the playoffs. He absolutely earned that money.
Now, though, Mayfield has outplayed his current contract. That's the argument made by NFL.com writer Tom Blair this week.
Blair made it clear that Mayfield has outplayed his $33.3 million average. Last season, the former first overall pick set career highs in most statistical categories including passing yards (4,500), touchdowns (41), and passer rating (106.8).
There's something that most analysts like Blair get wrong about Mayfield's contract, though. While Mayfield's per-year average is low, his cap hit is just over $23 million for this season. That number is actually $2 million more than Super Bowl MVP Jalen Hurts, and $5 million less than Patrick Mahomes.
Next offseason, Mayfield's cap hit is set to increase to a whopping $49 million. That cap number will count for 18% of the team's money per Spotrac, and will be $18 million more than Hurts next season.
A big reason why the Buccaneers have been able to retain some of their top talent is because of Mayfield's current contract. Compared to other top quarterbacks in the conference, the Oklahoma product costs a fair amount.
And at the end of the day, the Buccaneers know they need to retain as much of their talent as possible if they want to make a Super Bowl push.
Mayfield may seem like an underpaid asset for Tampa Bay, but the reality is that he is exactly where he needs to be to keep the Bucs in contention.