One of the last 2026 hold-ins has ended.
The Buccaneers and defensive tackle Vita Vea have reached agreement on a one-year extension, per Adam Schefter of ESPN.
It’s a one-year, $30 million extension. Given that he was due to make $18 million in 2026, it becomes a two-year, $48 million deal.
Schefter adds that Vea gets $6 million in new money this year. That pushes his pay to $24 million for 2026.
The initial report doesn’t indicate that the deal is fully guaranteed. If not, it’s basically a $6 million raise with no commitment from the team for 2027.
Vea had avoided practice as he sought a new deal. He had repeatedly asked to be traded. In the end, the Bucs sweetened the pot enough to get him to stay with the only NFL team for which he has played.
A first-round pick in 2018, Vea has appeared in 112 regular-season games with 107 starts. He made the Pro Bowl in 2021 and 2024, and he was a member of the Super Bowl LV-winning team in 2020.
