Just when we thought there'd be a lull in NFL news, the San Francisco 49ers dropped an all-time Friday news dump. The Niners announced a historic deal with Brock Purdy, one that handed a former Mr. Irrelevant a $265 million extension but also made the Tampa Bay Buccaneers look even better than they already did.
It's not that hard to tie this one back to the Bucs, as Tampa Bay's deal with Baker Mayfield continues to age tremendously with each new quarterback deal we see. Last offseason it was the Falcons hilariously giving Kirk Cousins $180 million, and now it's Purdy's deal reminding us how good Jason Licht has it.
Baker is entering the second year of a $100 million contract that runs through the 2026 season, and comparatively, it's an absolute bargain. Purdy has had more success than Cousins in getting his team close to a Super Bowl, but Tampa Bay is getting an even better version of that at a fraction of the cost.
Purdy is set to make $53 million AAV, whereas Baker is hanging around $33 million AAV -- a stark contrast in deals. Compare that to other deals we've seen since Baker signed, and things start to look even sweeter:
- Kirk Cousins - $45M AAV
- Geno Smith - $37.5M AAV
- Sam Darnold - $33.5M AAV
- Justin Fields - $20M AAV
That's insane considering that Baker is the best quarterback of the bunch by a pretty wide margin, yet the Bucs are paying him mid-to-low tier starter money.
It's not a knock on Baker, either. He's not getting lowballed or sold short, he gave the Bucs a discount and they still managed to take care of him with a $100 million contract. That's something that could come up in a year when all of this contract context starts to potentially impact Tampa Bay's next move.
While the Bucs look like geniuses for the time being, Baker's deal expires after the 2026 season which means a re-negotiation will likely happen at some point over the next calendar year. The good news is that Tampa Bay has shown an ability to get mutually beneficial deals done -- whether it be Baker, Mike Evans, Antoine Winfield Jr., or Tristan Wirfs. Guys want to play here and that's not something the team takes advantage of in ways others might to pay less for important players.
Tampa Bay's championship window should still be open when it comes time to get another deal done with Baker. That might mean another hometown discount, especially if an already great relationship continues to get even better over the next year.
Then again, the price of the brick keeps going up and the better Baker plays the more he'll be justified in asking for more than he got on his current deal. He'll be in a position to potentially sign the last big contract of his career in 2026, which means bringing him back might cost a little more.
Until then, though, the Bucs getting a deal done for one of the Top 10 quarterbacks in the league at a fraction of the price other teams are paying for lesser talent continues to be an amazing feeling.
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