Baker Mayfield
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Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield.
If you want to know why the front office of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is spoken about in such glowing terms among other Masters of the Universe types, just look at the 2 contracts they’ve signed quarterback Baker Mayfield to in the last 3 years.
After getting Mayfield on a 1-year, $4 million contract in 2023, the Buccaneers watched him lead the Buccaneers to an NFC South Division title and make his first Pro Bowl. Management pounced quickly to bring him back on a 3-year, $100 million contract in March 2024.
Mayfield responded by having the best season of his career. After injuries and a terrible defense saw the Buccaneers drop to 4-6, Mayfield put the team on his shoulders and led them to another NFC South title and 10-7 finish. He did so with career highs in passing yards (4,500), passing touchdowns (41), completion percentage (71.4), rushing yards (378), rushing touchdowns (3) and yards per carry (6.7) and made his second consecutive Pro Bowl.
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At approximately $33 million per year and established as one of the Top 10 quarterbacks in the NFL (or close enough), that’s the kind of value NFL franchises dream about. If Mayfield continues his current trajectory, it would put the Buccaneers face to face with one of the biggest decisions in franchise history.
The decision: Pay Mayfield in 2026 or let him play out his contract and risk him leaving or having to pay him way more than they anticipated.
Here’s how those 2 scenarios might look for Tampa Bay.
Scenario A: Pay Mayfield Following 2025 Season
We start with the most likely of the 2 scenarios — Mayfield continues to play well and the Buccaneers pay him following the 2025 season.
In this scenario, Tampa Bay gets its hand forced here if Mayfield and the Buccaneers do one of 2 things; either make the NFC Championship Game or make it to the Super Bowl.
In either one of those outcomes, the Buccaneers are looking at something in the neighborhood of a 4-year, $240 million contract extension — essentially the deal Dak Prescott got from the Dallas Cowboys before last season — that would pay him in the neighborhood of $60 million per season.
“Given his performance in Tampa Bay over the past two seasons in leading the team to back-to-back NFC South championships and a total of 19 regular season wins, Mayfield deserves to be making at least $50 million per season,” Pewter Report’s Scott Reynolds wrote on June 2. “(There are) 11 QBs who make at least $50 million per year or more, and Mayfield is certainly as good – if not better – than some of the names on this list.”
Scenario B: Let Mayfield Play Out Contract
The other scenario is the Buccaneers let Mayfield play out his contract over the next 2 seasons at an incredible savings and roll the dice with how that plays out.
Imagine Mayfield and the Buccaneers either miss the playoffs or lose in the NFC Wild Card Round in 2025. In that scenario he doesn’t get a new deal following the season.
That leads to a winner-take-all showdown in 2026. Another so-so year and the Buccaneers either get Mayfield back on another team-friendly deal, look for another free agent starter or select a quarterback in the first round of the 2027 NFL draft.
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If Mayfield goes nuts and leads Tampa Bay to a Super Bowl or NFC Championship Game appearance? That might get him something in the range of a 3-year, $195 million contract at around $65 million per year.