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Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield.
When it comes to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers payroll, the future seems to hinge on what happens with quarterback Baker Mayfield.
In the immediate future, the Buccaneers need Mayfield to restructure the 3-year, $100 million contract he signed before the 2024 season to make room for a possible big splash free agent signing or trade — someone along the lines of Cincinnati Bengals edge rusher Trey Hendrickson or Las Vegas Raiders edge rusher Maxx Crosby.
For the long-term future, Mayfield likely wants a deal that would keep him with the Buccaneers for years.
According to one NFL insider, the chances of the former are high and the latter are slim.
“Quarterback Baker Mayfield is under contract through 2026, the final season of a three-year, $100 million deal,” Tampa Bay Times NFL reporter Rick Stroud wrote on Monday. “It’s possible, but unlikely, the Bucs would attempt to extend him before the start of the season.”
Need Mayfield’s Help But Won’t Help Him
So the most likely outcome for the Buccaneers will be that they not only ask Mayfield to do them a favor, but tell him to wait for his big payday.
“Fortunately, the Bucs can create plenty of cap space by restructuring the contracts of players such as Mayfield, tackles Tristan Wirfs and Luke Goedeke, safety Antoine Winfield Jr., cornerback Zyon McCollum, defensive tackle Vita Vea, guard Ben Bredeson and outside linebacker Anthony Nelson,” Stroud wrote. “All told, that would create more than $105 million in cap space. It’s unrealistic to think they would restructure that many deals, but there are substantial savings to be had. A more reasonable figure is $50 million.”
The Buccaneers are actually rolling the dice on not signing Mayfield to an extension right now. Consider this: Paying Mayfield right now probably equates to something along the lines of a 3-year, $120 million extension — around $40 million per year.
If Mayfield balls out in 2026, which there’s a really good chance of with a healthy lineup, then that per year number could shoot up to between $50 million to $55 million.
Preseason Predictions Didn’t Favor Mayfield
Before the 2025 season, Bleacher Report’s Brad Gagnon predicted the Buccaneers might look elsewhere if Mayfield didn’t perform.
While the Buccaneers finished 8-9 overall and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2015, you can make an argument their record would have been much, much worse without Mayfield playing as well as he did and seemingly playing injured down the stretch.
“Baker Mayfield probably can’t afford to throw 16 interceptions again like he did last season,” Gagnon wrote in May 2025. “If he doesn’t become more consistent and reliable in 2025, the Bucs could bite the financial bullet and move on.”
Mayfield threw for 3,693 yards, 26 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, although 9 of those interceptions came over the final 8 games.
NFL.com’s Nick Shook called out Mayfield for his play in 2025, putting him at No. 17 in his postseason NFL starting quarterback rankings.
“Baker Mayfield went from legitimate early-season MVP candidate to the face of Tampa Bay’s downturn in 2025, and did much of it while playing through injury,” Shook wrote. “He’s a gamer, a tireless competitor who owns his role as the Bucs franchise quarterback and is often an entertaining watch. He’s also a streaky passer, which unfortunately contributed to the Bucs’ second-half collapse.”
Tony Adame covers the NFL for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Washington Commanders, Dallas Cowboys, Baltimore Ravens, Philadelphia Eagles and Denver Broncos. A veteran sports writer and editor since 2004, his work has been featured at Stadium Talk, Yardbarker, NW Florida Daily News and Pensacola News Journal. More about Tony Adame
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