The Tampa Bay Buccaneers organization handled its most important piece of business on Tuesday, finally reaching an agreement with franchise quarterback Baker Mayfield on a long-term contract extension.

The deal earned a high grade and was a win for both the team and Mayfield, adding three years and $165 million to his current contract. Now Mayfield is signed through the 2029 season, and both sides no longer have to worry about it being a distraction.

It was always expected that Mayfield and the Bucs would eventually hammer out the extension, but that made it no less of a surprise when news broke on Tuesday that it was done.

After all, Mayfield's deadline of the beginning of training camp to reach a deal had long passed. Things got a bit dicey in the aftermath of the deadline passing, but it looked like both sides had put it behind them and were focused on the upcoming season.

Mayfield had vowed to not let his contract situation affect his play, and it looked like he had already moved on and was laser-focused on football. It was assumed that talks would resume after the season.

So, how did the two sides end up making a deal?

Apparently, Mayfield's agent was still talking to the Bucs without Mayfield even knowing about it.

Now, that doesn't mean the agent was up to anything nefarious. I wrote an article after the training camp deadline passed, alluding to the quarterback leaving the door open a crack for a deal to possibly still get done.

Mayfield told Pete Prisco of CBS Sports that his agent knows not to bother him with anything contract-related unless the Bucs come back to the table with an offer that shows they recognize his value.

"Unless it's some deal that they actually recognize my value and they want me here long-term... that was probably the biggest difference, there was zero long-term lock-in."

That's exactly what happened.

On Wednesday, Mayfield spoke with reporters about how he got the news that Tampa's offer had improved, as shared by Pewter Report.

Didn't Know Talks Were Back On Until Monday Night

Mayfield spoke about not knowing his agent had been talking to the team all last week until Monday evening.

"When it comes to the deadline, I told my agent, 'Listen, I'm done talking about it. Unless something really changes, you can bring that to my attention. If you think I actually am willing to agree to it then bring it to my attention.'

"Apparently, they engaged in talks last week that I did not know about until Monday about 6 PM...It caught both of us off guard when we were at dinner...This is awesome. This is home for me. This is home for us."

Mayfield didn't hear the news that a deal might be close until Monday evening, when he was at dinner with his wife. He then found out the deal was actually done on Tuesday while at the movies with some of his teammates, joking that he had to walk out of "Cars" to get it over the finish line.

"That was fun," Mayfield said. "Step away from Lightning McQueen for a second to agree to that."

Final Thoughts

It's amazing how quickly a deal can get done. After months of failed negotiations seemed to drive Mayfield and the organization further apart, it turns out the two sides were a lot closer than they realized.

The Bucs appeared more motivated to get the extension done with Mayfield after they were able to end their other high-profile contract dispute. Once Tampa worked out an extension with star defensive tackle Vita Vea, the team turned its attention back to Mayfield.

It's great to see Mayfield and the organization all smiles after weeks of contention.

It's even better that the Bucs and Mayfield both got what they wanted, which was to keep their partnership going for at least a few more years.