Baker Mayfield contract (Getty Images)
Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers agreed on a three-year, $165 million extension on September 8, five days before the season opener at Cincinnati. The deal averages $55 million a year and keeps the quarterback in Tampa through 2029. The Bucs, coming off an 8-9 season that left them out of the playoffs, now have their quarterback settled while they rebuild a receiving group without Mike Evans. Three years, $165 million, $55 million per season. Mayfield was already signed for 2026, so the new money covers 2027 through 2029. The 2023 team won a playoff game. The 2024 team went 10-7, won the division again and lost in the Wild Card round. That run is what earned him the $100 million extension in 2024, and it is why this second raise felt less like a favor and more like an obligation.
Early reports said little about guarantees or signing bonus structure, and that is the part to watch once the full contract details surface. It ends a standoff that started when Mayfield’s own deadline for a new contract passed at the start of training camp. The headline numbers are easy. It turned into the opposite. He made the Pro Bowl in each of his first two seasons and led the Bucs to consecutive NFC South titles.
His previous contract, three years and $100 million, worked out to roughly $33 million a year. The new one adds about $22 million per season. The Bucs are betting that a 31-year-old who turns 32 next April still has several good years left, and the contract will run until he is 34.
“I’ve been pretty up front and honest about my feelings about Tampa, it being home for our family, raising kids here,” he said. At a Wednesday news conference, he called the new contract “life-changing” and thanked the Glazer family. Neither side wanted that fight. Mayfield had been clear in July about where his heart sits. Defensive tackle Vita Vea also ended his hold-in with a new deal, so the team cleared two sore spots at once. Notice what that means. Mayfield did not push the market forward. He matched it. For a player who started his Tampa run on a prove-it contract, landing in the same pay tier as Burrow and Allen is the statement. The jump is steep when you compare it to his last deal.