There's more than a few eyes on the future at Tampa Bay Buccaneers training camp right now. After back-to-back division titles to kick off the post-Tom Brady era -- making it four straight since 2021 -- expectations are as high as they've been all decade.
A big reason for that is how well Baker Mayfield helped transition the team into this new era. We've come a long way from the lame jokes and trolls after he signed with the Bucs in 2023 as he's managed to revive his career in ways few expected.
He still has two years left on his contract, so there isn't a Mike Evans-type situation heading into this season, but that hasn't stopped the team from thinking about the future. The Bucs aren't a franchise that tends to do business in the wide open, which is something we were reminded of recently.
Mayfield revealed to CBS Sports' Pete Prisco that the Bucs had recently reworked his contract to give him $30 million guaranteed
"Right now, I'm under contract through 2026 so really it was about getting guaranteed money for '26, and they did that," Baker said. He also noted that he "signed the contract and knew what it was" in response to Prisco pointing out that he's among the least-paid quarterbacks in the league.
Wait, what?
That's a very subtle and low-key way to reveal such a potentially massive alteration to his contract. It's also extremely on-brand for how the Bucs have done business as Jason Licht has masterfully crafted a Super Bowl-contending roster.
Baker Mayfield casually drops a big new detail about his contract with Buccaneers
Not only did we learn about is in the most nonchalant way possible, but we're all late to the party. This change to Baker's deal reportedly happened back in April around the draft, which means everyone kept a lid on it for least two months.
It's nothing earth-shattering in terms of immediate impact. The reworking of Baker's deal doesn't free up any new money now to go out and make deals, which is likely why it was left unsaid for as long as it was. It does, however, send a pretty clear message of endorsement from the Bucs as well as potentially more.
There's a lot of convoluted stuff to what the Bucs just did, but Greg Auman broke it down pretty perfectly:
The fine print on Bucs amending Baker Mayfield's contract back in April: He was due to make $40 million, not guaranteed. They shifted $30M to roster bonus, guaranteed against injury. Of that, $13M is guaranteed now, other $17M guarantees early 2026. Basically $30M guaranteed.
— Greg Auman (@gregauman) July 28, 2025
Essentially, the Bucs did two things: they took care of Baker and gave him a fully guaranteed salary for 2026 and planted a seed for potentially getting a deal done before next season.
Tampa Bay took things to the wire with Baker last offseason when it seemed like he was about to hit free agency. In the 11th hour they were able to secure a $100 million deal, but getting something done sooner this time around feels like a much better approach.
Barring some sort of truly historic meltdown this season, Baker is going to get a new deal from the Bucs. Giving him guaranteed money in 2026 could make getting something done next offseason easier and would mean a new deal with a nice buffer before it expired.
We'll have to see what happens, but all of this seems like the start of something very good in terms of Baker's future in Tampa Bay.
More Tampa Bay Buccaneers