With his brand-new contract extension, Baker Mayfield skyrocketed up the rankings for quarterback salaries.

Not so much in quarterback rankings.

Mayfield's three-year, $165 million deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers placed Mayfield in a group of quarterbacks all making $55 million per year. Only Patrick Mahomes ($64 million) and Dak Prescott ($60 million) make more.

While he now ranks toward the very top of salaries, Mayfield is still ranked outside of the top-10 in most QB rankings.

Heading into the opening Sunday of the regular season, Nick Shook of NFL.com ranked all 32 starting quarterbacks for Week 1. Mayfield was ranked as the top QB in Tier 3, 14th overall.

Shook points out that many of the QBs in his third tier come with injury concerns. The tier includes Brock Purdy, Bo Nix, Jayden Daniels, and Daniel Jones, who, like Mayfield, all struggled with injuries in 2025.

Though he didn't miss any games, Mayfield was forced to play through several different ailments last season. The Netflix docuseries Quarterback highlighted just how far Mayfield was from being 100% throughout the year.

The entire Bucs' offense was ravaged by injuries last season. Four of their five starting offensive linemen missed at least five games. Top running back Bucky Irving missed seven. Mayfield's top three wide receivers from 2024, Mike Evans, Chris Godwin Jr., and Jalen McMillan, all missed significant time.

The injuries to so many of his teammates compelled Mayfield to make sure he remained available for the Bucs all season, even though his play was clearly hampered, as Shook points out.

"Injuries unfortunately hampered a significant portion of this group. Baker Mayfield played through multiple ailments and saw his performance suffer."

If he can remain healthy, something the Bucs' organization has expressed concern over, Mayfield has the ability and enough talent around him this season to be one of the NFL's top-10 quarterbacks.

Shook makes a point of saying that these quarterback rankings are fluid and will change week-by-week as the season progresses. It wouldn't be a surprise to see Mayfield finish the campaign ranked much higher than where he is to begin it.

Where Mayfield ranks among NFL quarterbacks has been a hot topic for months as his contract dispute with Tampa persisted.

The consensus was that he was just outside the top 10, which made how much money he should receive in his new deal a fascinating debate.

Now that he has been paid in line with the top quarterbacks in the league, Mayfield has plenty of pressure on him to live up to his contract.

He gets to begin the season tomorrow against the Cincinnati Bengals, a team he has had plenty of success against in his career.