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Buccaneers: Mike Evans signs five year extension

By James Yarcho

TAMPA, FL - OCTOBER 1: Wide receiver Mike Evans #13 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers makes his way through the tunnel before taking to the field with teammates before the start of an NFL football game against the New York Giants on October 1, 2017 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Brian Blanco/Getty Images)
TAMPA, FL - OCTOBER 1: Wide receiver Mike Evans #13 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers makes his way through the tunnel before taking to the field with teammates before the start of an NFL football game against the New York Giants on October 1, 2017 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Brian Blanco/Getty Images) /
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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have locked up one of their top players to a five year extension.

Wide receiver Mike Evans was one of the top off-season priorities for Jason Licht and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. With Evans entering the final year of his rookie deal, he needed to be locked up sooner rather than later.

Now, he has;

The full contract breakdown is, of course, not yet available but Evans will receive $55 million in guarantees and an average annual value of $16.5 million, just under what Antonio Brown of the Pittsburgh Steelers is bringing in ($17M).

This is the first of many steps in the re-signing of recent drat picks the Buccaneers will need to do in the coming months. Now that Evans has been extended, Jason Licht needs to turn his attention to Kwon Alexander, Ali Marpet, Donovan Smith, and Jameis Winston. Outside of Winston who has a fifth year option on his rookie deal since he was a first round pick, the rest of these players will become free agents next March.

Evans is knocking on the door of every Buccaneers receiving record and is excited to be spending the next six seasons in Tampa Bay;

With the deal, Evans becomes the highest paid Buccaneers player per season and will be receiving passes from Winston through the 2023 season.

Evans currently ranks third all time for the Buccaneers in receptions (309), third all time in yards (4,579), sixth all time in average yards per reception (14.82), and second all time in touchdowns (32). Evans will be number one all time in Bucs history in receptions, touchdowns, and yards by the end of the 2018 season barring any injury troubles.

More details to come as they emerge regarding the structure of the contract and annual payouts.

Next: Free Agent Spotlight - Running Back Dion Lewis

Jason Licht may not have been involved in any trades over the past few days, but he’s been working hard at ensuring that a cornerstone of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was locked up for years to come.

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