The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Baker Mayfield were unable to reach an agreement on a long-term contract extension, and the veteran quarterback is now set to play out the final year of his deal.
The stalled negotiations have created tension between Mayfield and the organization, with the quarterback publicly airing his grievances with how they handle contracts, saying he feels disrespected.
The Buccaneers are wary of forking over a long-term deal worth $50 million or more per season, but the way Mayfield is viewed around the league should give the front office a wake-up call and make their decision easier.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers should meet Baker Mayfield’s contract demands — or another team will
Mike Sando of The Athletic surveyed 50 executives and coaches around the NFL to place quarterbacks into tiers and come up with a cumulative ranking.
Mayfield landed in Tier Two as the No. 14 quarterback in the NFL.
Criteria for Tier Two included quarterbacks who can occasionally carry their team, handle pure-passing situations in doses, and have dimensions to their game that separate them from quarterbacks in the lower tiers, but still have a hole or two in their game.
One anonymous offensive coordinator called Mayfield “the streakiest player of all-time.”
Another executive in Sando’s survey offered this evaluation of Mayfield:
“He probably fluctuates from a 3 to a 2, with some (Tier) 1 games in there,” an exec said. “A little bit of a reckless play style, a little smaller guy. You saw some wear and tear catch up to him last season. I lean towards a 3.”
Many Bucs fans will agree with that assessment of Mayfield. He can be a bit up-and-down at times, with some MVP-level performances mixed in among some subpar stretches. His recklessness gets him into trouble at times, but it’s also a unique part of his game that rallies the team and fan base around him and makes him such a rare quarterback.
So you may be asking, how does that inconsistency warrant such a hefty long-term deal?
Well, some of the other quarterbacks ranked in the same tier as Mayfield include: Justin Herbert, Dak Prescott, Jared Goff, Jordan Love, Brock Purdy, Trevor Lawrence, and Jalen Hurts.
What do all of those quarterbacks have in common? They’re all being paid at least $50 million annually by their respective teams.
Mayfield has seemingly already come to this conclusion as well. During his first press conference of training camp when he lit into the Buccaneers, he said:
“I can sit here and look at other quarterbacks and peers and evaluate myself based on that and put myself in certain categories, and I deserve to be compensated for that.”
With 12 quarterbacks already making at least $50 million annually, and coaches and executives ranking Mayfield as the NFL’s 14th-best quarterback, it’s not a stretch for him to want to be paid among his peers who are ranked in the same tier.
If the Buccaneers don’t commit to Mayfield, someone else will. There is no shortage of quarterback-needy teams, and Mayfield will be the top quarterback available in free agency by a wide margin next offseason.
Teams like the Jets and Cardinals would kill to have a franchise quarterback like Mayfield, while the Vikings, Colts, Steelers could also emerge as suitors based on how the upcoming season plays out.
Tampa Bay has struggled throughout franchise history to find a long-term answer at quarterback. It’s not often a player like Mayfield walks through the doors of One Buc Place.
The worst-case scenario for the Buccaneers is to watch Mayfield sign elsewhere all because of their reluctance to give him a contract that reflects his value as their franchise quarterback.
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