Buccaneers veterans will report back to training camp on July 28, quarterback Baker Mayfield‘s self-imposed deadline for contract negotiations. If an extension doesn’t come together by then, Mayfield could play out the last season of his current deal and head into 2027 as an impending free agent.
Each the Buccaneers and Mayfield have publicly expressed interest in a long-term agreement, but they’ve not bridged the gap in talks. While Mayfield’s exact asking price is unknown, something within the range of $50MM every year “definitely looks as if the benchmark” for the 31-year-old and his camp, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network said during Friday’s edition of “The Insiders.”
Mayfield was on the verge of reaching the open market in March 2024, but he accepted the Buccaneers’ three-year, $100MM offer with $50MM in guarantees. On the time, he became the NFL’s Fifteenth-highest paid signal-caller by guarantees and sixteenth by way of annual value. Mayfield stays sixteenth at his position in AAV ($33.3MM), but there are actually a dozen QBs raking in $50MM or more per 12 months. The Browns’ Deshaun Watson ($46MM) and the Colts’ Daniel Jones ($44MM) are next in line. Watson has been a disaster in Cleveland, where he replaced Mayfield in 2022, while Jones has arguably undergone more downs than ups during his seven-year profession.
Mayfield has easily outproduced Watson and Jones lately, which not less than gives him an argument to approach $50MM per season on his next contract. Since reviving his profession as Tom Brady‘s successor in Tampa Bay in 2023, Mayfield has thrown for 4,000 yards twice, tossed 95 touchdowns against 37 interceptions, logged a 97.3 passer rating and earned a pair of Pro Bowl selections. He also led the Buccaneers to the playoffs in his first two seasons as their starter, but he and the team took steps backward during an 8-9, injury-plagued 12 months in 2025. While Mayfield was badly banged up for nearly your entire season, he still managed to start out all 17 games.
Mayfield has never missed a game as a Buccaneer, yet the club has shown concern over his health in the course of the negotiating process. That’s seemingly amongst the explanations Tampa Bay has not met Mayfield’s demands, but perhaps they’ll find common ground in the following 10 days. Otherwise, if Mayfield doesn’t budge on his negotiating deadline, he won’t reengage with the Bucs until next 12 months (if in any respect).