Baker Mayfield’s career was sent out to sea after the Browns traded for Deshaun Watson in 2021. They went all in on the former Texans quarterback and gave up on their former number one overall pick who had led them to their only playoff victory in the last 30 years.
From there Mayfield would hop around the league before signing with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and showing that in the right scenario he had a lot left in the tank. The former Heisman Trophy winner has a record of 19-15 with the Bucs and has passed for 8,544 yards and 69 touchdowns in two seasons with them.
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Because of that record and production, NFL Media’s Tom Blair listed him among the NFL’s best values in terms of contracts.
Blair writes, “. . .he undoubtedly should make more than $33.33 million per year, which puts him below Sam Darnold, Geno Smith and Kirk Cousins on the contracts table. And, yes, that APY is roughly $20 million per year less than what Tua Tagovailoa, Jared Goff and Brock Purdy are receiving. In 2024, Mayfield was one of three QBs (joining Goff and Joe Burrow) to throw for 4,500-plus yards, while his 41 TD passes tied him for second-most in the NFL (with Jackson, behind Burrow’s 43). . .Mayfield’s current pact stands out as a jaw-dropping discount for the Bucs.”
Mayfield is entering the second year of a three-year, $100 million contract that he signed ahead of the 2024 season.
Whenever he gets a likely extension with the Bucs, the value may be gone, but the price on a franchise quarterback is hard to have an exact number on it. He has shown he can be the guy for the Bucs, and with the team already building for the future with picks like Jalen McMillan and Emeka Egbuka at wide receiver, they have a long-term plan for him.
This article originally appeared on Bucs Wire: Quarterback Baker Mayfield seen as deserving of new deal ahead of 2025