Bucs, Mayfield reach 3-year, $165M extension, sources say — SkimNews
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- Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers agreed to a 3-year, $165 million extension, keeping him with the team through the 2029 campaign
- The deal averages $55 million per year, tied for the third-highest mark among NFL quarterbacks
- The Bucs' previous final offer stood at 2 years and $50 million — a figure that would have ranked just 13th among QBs and that Mayfield's agent Tom Wills pushed back on as too low
- Bucs owner Joel Glazer called it the largest contract in franchise history, citing Mayfield's leadership, two straight NFC South titles and a 2023 playoff victory
- Mayfield's camp held out with an eye on upcoming QB extensions for C.J. Stroud, Lamar Jackson, Caleb Williams, Drake Maye and Bo Nix, plus a rising salary cap
- GM Jason Licht locked in Mayfield just one month after extending Vita Vea — who had publicly requested a trade during his own holdout — extending a pattern of resolving standoffs late
- The deal dwarfs Tampa Bay's previous QB ceiling: Mayfield's own prior 3-year, $100M contract, and before that Tom Brady's 2-year, $50M deal
Why it matters: Tampa Bay broke its long-running pattern of treating quarterbacks as journeyman stopgaps, committing $55M per year to a QB who delivered two division titles and a playoff win. The deal replaces a previous QB contract ceiling set by Tom Brady's 2-year, $50M pact and signals the franchise now values the position like a top-of-market team. It also lands ahead of a wave of younger QB extensions, locking the Bucs into their number now rather than resetting it later.
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