Although the biggest topic of conversation around One Buc Place is the impending payday and new contract for franchise quarterback Baker Mayfield, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers also have to prepare a new deal for nose tackle Vita Vea, who is not practicing with his teammates as a minicamp hold in.
Despite some reporters attempting to add an aura of mystery about Vea's disappearances, the answer was simple and a tale as old as time in the NFL. Show me the money. Vea has been holding in on the Buccaneers because he wants a new contract, and when looking at where he stands on the list of the highest paid defensive tackles in the NFL, it is easy to see why.
Vea is currently making $17.75 million from the Buccaneers, which means he is only 19th among all interior defensive linemen in the league in annual contractual value. The highest paid interior defensive linemen make around $30 million.
Vita Vea is going to get PAID
And just now, the overall price tag for all defensive tackles went up, including Vita Vea while he is still in negotiations with the Buccaneers. Jeffrey Simmons of the Tennessee Titans is an absolute monster, and he was already getting paid big at $23.5 million per season. But now, he and the AFC South side have negotiated a raise to a whopping $35.3 million per year, with the extension making him the highest paid defensive tackle in history.
Now, Vea is not as good as Simmons, but he is not crazily far off either. And if Simmons is going to get a 50 percent annual raise on his contract, Vea could try to argue for a similar one, even though he is older than 30.
But Vea can point to a few things that are important. He can say that he delivers sacks, tackles, and pressures at a high rate as a nose tackle despite playing in a Buccaneers front seven that was one of the league's worst - and he was the one guy holding it all together. Vea can also point to his leadership and experience as monumental assets for the Buccaneers.
It is not implausible for Vea to ask for $20 million per year or even money approaching $25 million per season, and as long as the deal is only a short term extension, Vea can argue that the risks related to age and decline are worth it, particularly since the big guys at nose tackle tend to age pretty gracefully (and Vea has a lot in the tank).
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