The Tampa Bay Buccaneers made a quiet but telling move earlier this offseason when the team restructured Baker Mayfield’s contract. The tweak included $30 million in guarantees for 2026, which was a year that previously had no guaranteed money.
“Right now, I’m under contract through 2026 so really it was about getting guaranteed money for ’26, and they did that,” Mayfield told CBS Sports' Pete Prisco.
When Mayfield first signed his three-year, $100 million deal with Tampa Bay last offseason, the lack of guaranteed money in the final year gave the team a clear escape hatch where they could move on with little financial ramifications if Mayfield underperformed.
The shift toward giving Mayfield $30 million guaranteed signals that the organization has complete and total trust in Mayfield as the quarterback going forward.
While no extension has been signed yet, this move feels like the first clear step toward one. Mayfield is due for a massive new deal, and the Buccaneers know it.
Baker Mayfield contract restructure makes the Buccaneers' next move crystal clear
Even with $30 million now guaranteed for 2026, Tampa Bay is still getting tremendous value. Mayfield’s average annual salary of $33.3 million ranks just 19th among NFL quarterbacks, according to Over the Cap. That’s a steal for a QB who just led the Bucs to back-to-back division titles and leads the league in touchdown passes over the last two seasons.
He was recently ranked the No. 9 quarterback in the league in Jeremy Fowler of ESPN’s annual positional rankings, voted on by executives, coaches, and scouts, and his next contract will pay him like the top-ten quarterback he’s proven to be in Tampa Bay.
By comparison, Jordan Love, Trevor Lawrence, and Tua Tagovailoa are all making over $53 million per year. Mayfield, based on his production and leadership, belongs in that pay bracket, and he will be there soon enough.
Still, the Buccaneers aren’t exactly rushing to get an extension done. This restructure feels like a holdover move, rewarding Mayfield without resetting the quarterback market just yet.
“The goal for us is for Baker to continue to be the player that he is, and at some point, we reach an extension when the time is right and he continues to be our quarterback for a long time,” general manager Jason Licht told The Athletic's Jeff Howe.
Reading between the lines, Licht appears content to let the current deal play out a little longer. With two years of high-end value still on the books, there’s no need to jump early—especially if Mayfield remains satisfied.
And at least for now, he seems to be. “I signed the contract. I knew what it was,” Mayfield told Prisco.
If Mayfield can stay consistent and build on his career-best 2024 season, it’s only a matter of time before the Bucs back up the Brinks truck.
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