Tampa Bay secures its franchise quarterback with a massive $165 million extension after months of contentious negotiations.
So much for deadlines.
On Tuesday, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and quarterback Baker Mayfield came to an agreement on a three-year contract extension just days before the Bucs' season opener.
Despite Mayfield setting a deadline of the beginning of training camp to sign a new deal before cutting off negotiations until after the season, the two sides were still able to make a deal.
Adam Schefter and Ian Rapoport broke the news of Mayfield's new extension.
Per Schefter, the new deal is a three-year extension worth $165 million.
Although Mayfield's deadline passed without a new contract, he did appear to leave the door open a crack to sign a new deal during the season.
It had been reported that Mayfield was seeking at least $50 million per year, which has become the baseline for franchise quarterbacks. Although the Bucs were willing to reach that number, they only offered a two-year extension, far shorter than the deals other top QBs received.
Mayfield was not happy that the organization was not willing to give him more of a "long-term lock-in." He publicly vented his frustrations over the negotiations, which the Bucs were not pleased about.
Mayfield, who is entering his fourth season with Tampa, had vowed not to let the contract situation affect his play this season. He did, however, send the Bucs a warning that his price was only going to go up after another strong season.
That turned out to be moot, as the two sides finally came to terms.
Long Saga Has Happy Ending
The relationship between Mayfield and the organization looked like it was becoming contentious. Luckily, the long saga has a happy ending.
The situation ran the risk of becoming a distraction for a Bucs team that has an enormous amount of pressure to return to the playoffs this year after a 2-7 finish last season cost them the NFC South title and a trip to the postseason.
While many expected Mayfield to repeat his career pattern of playing his best football when he feels like he has something to prove, both he and the team can now breathe a sigh of relief that it is no longer an issue.
Mayfield has been able to revitalize his career in Tampa after it looked like his time as a starting QB may be over after bouncing between the Carolina Panthers and Los Angeles Rams during the 2022 season.
The Bucs also hit the jackpot with Mayfield, who was able to keep them a playoff team after the retirement of Tom Brady.
Final Thoughts
Whew.
Thankfully, this brings an end to a situation that could have turned out much worse. If the Bucs would have lost Mayfield in free agency next year, the team would have been forced into a rebuilding phase.
Now that the Bucs have retained their franchise QB long-term, their focus can be on building what is already a talented team into an annual Super Bowl contenders.
