Tampa Bay Buccaneers star quarterback Baker Mayfield said he felt "disrespected" by what the Bucs organization and general manager Jason Licht were offering him during contract negotiations, which have now formally ended with the start of training camp.
So Mayfield is going to head into the 2026 NFL regular season on an expiring contract, at risk of leaving the Bucs for free agency next year if he blows up and has a huge year. And there are a lot of Bucs fans who are not happy with Licht apparently offering below the bare minimum of $50 million per season for a franchise quarterback, and it seems like most fans are taking Mayfield's side.
The Bucs fan base has fallen head over heels for Mayfield, even though he hasn't made it past the divisional round in Tampa and played very poorly in the second half of the 2025 season when the Bucs collapsed and lost the division to the rival Carolina Panthers.
Jason Licht is putting the Tampa Bay Buccaneers first over Baker Mayfield
When looking at the bigger picture there, Licht can be forgiven for not wanting to commit too much to Mayfield. While Mayfield is a great quarterback when everything is clicking, when things are not going his way, he plays like one of the worst pasers in the league, which is exactly what the Bucs quietly saw unfold before them in the second half of the season.
Regardless of the fact that defensive woes and injuries played a bigger role in the collapse than anything Baker Mayfield did under center, the reality is that quarterbacks are paid the big bucks to win, and Mayfield didn't get the job done regardless of circumstances, which is what Jason Licht and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers probably want to see first before they commit huge dollar signs to the former first round pick.
In that way, the Buccaneers are playing their cards right and doing their best to protect the organization. Because Licht's responsibilty isn't to Mayfield or his cult of personality. His job is to protect the organization and make the best decision in the long term interests of the team.
That means forcing Mayfield to prove it. If Mayfield thinks he is a top five quarterback in this league and should get a long term contract with $60 million per season, then he has to go out there and play like that kind of quarterback. And if he does, the Buccaneers will not only be glad to pay him, but they will have also coaxed a career year out of Baker by putting a boulder on his shoulder. From that vantage point, it's hard to argue against what Licht is doing, even if it seems very unpopular.
Add us as a preferred source on Google