Now that the dust has settled from the 2026 NFL Draft, the biggest storyline surrounding the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this summer is the impending contract extension for Baker Mayfield, as the franchise quarterback will be in need of a new deal after the 2026 season ends.
Whether or not the Bucs should let Mayfield play out the 2026 season without a contract extension is a matter of preference, and while the prevailing belief among the Buccaneers faithful is that holding Mayfield down contractually now is the preferable stance, there are others who want to see Mayfield still prove himself throughout an entire season after a poor 2025 showing in the back half of the year.
Mayfield himself made it clear in public that he and the Buccaneers are not even close at the bargaining table, which was, even for Mayfield, a surprisingly brazen statement for the Bucs fans to hear from their star quarterback.
Jason Licht did not escalate the situation
So the ball then turned over to Jason Licht, and instead of potentially inflaming a decliate situation, given Mayfield's history, the Buccaneers general manager deftly avoided controversy with a classy statement on the matter.
Licht said of the negotiations between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Baker Mayfield to JP Peterson of Fan Stream Sports, “We’ve had some discussions and we’ll continue to have some internal discussions and see, and try to bring this to closure one way or another. But no one wants to see Baker go anywhere, and no one’s worried about how Baker’s mindset is going to be. I’ve had conversations with him about that. He’s all about wanting to win. So he’s in a good place.”
He added on the specific topic of Mayfield's comments that he and the Bucs are not even close, “I respect Baker. He’s free to say whatever he wants to say. And that’s the way he’s wired and I have nothing but love for Baker. I’ll keep all that stuff internal; I never use the media for [talking about negotiations].”
In addition to having a productive free agent period and an awesome draft, Jason Licht, once again, proved why he is one of the better general managers in the NFL today with these comments on Mayfield. He showed his star quarterback respect, refused to get into any specific details to jeopardize negotiations, and did not make things about himself. He backed Mayfield, as the organization has been doing all along, and avoided Mayfield's rather unwise comments on the talks to devolve further or become a bigger story than they need to be.
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