Thursday’s surprising decision by Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield to publicly peel back the curtain on the details of his contract talks with the team created several questions.
Here’s one: Did the Buccaneers offer him a “two-year deal” or did they offer him a two-year extension to his existing contract, making it a three-year deal?
Mayfield has reportedly characterized it as a two-year deal. Per a source with knowledge of the situation, it was a two-year extension.
It’s a subtle but significant point. Mayfield believes he was “disrespected.” An offer of a two-year deal seems less respectful to a reasonable person with no skin in the game than an offer of a three-year deal.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported that the Buccaneers ultimately offered Mayfield “a two-year deal worth slightly above $100 million in total.” While not mentioned in the ESPN article, this necessarily means it was a two-year extension; given the manner in which veteran contracts are analyzed, a two-year, $100 million deal would have a “new-money” average of $72.5 million, based on the “old money” of $27.5 million.
That’s where the disconnect may be coming from. Mayfield may be looking at the offer in total average from signing, and the Bucs may be looking at new-money average. In this specific case, a two-year extension worth more than $100 million has a new-money APY of more than $50 million. The three-year deal would have a real average from signing of $42.5 million.
While none of it apparently matters at this point, given the lingering impasse that Mayfield currently has no desire to attempt to resolve, it underscores the reality that teams and players often interpret contract offers very differently. Mayfield’s goal is to get the fans to agree that he was indeed “disrespected” and “undervalued.” Characterizing the Buccaneers’ offer as a two-year “deal” and not a two-year “extension” is one way to tip public opinion his way.
Will it work? In a question of laundry versus person wearing the laundry, the fans typically get behind the laundry. And if the ultimate fight is whether the contract will have a value from signing that is closer to $50 million than $40 million, most fans won’t be persuaded to alter their habit of rooting for the laundry.
Bucs Clips
Baker Mayfield has some clear problems with the way the Buccaneers handled negotiating a potential contract extension this offseason, saying he feels “disrespected” and “undervalued” during his Thursday press conference.
But he also took issue with the way the club has handled its negotiations with other players — while also claiming he doesn’t have larger concerns about the franchise.
In his first answer about his contract situation, Mayfield brought up and took up for defensive tackle Vita Vea, who is staging an apparent hold-in after requesting a trade. A pillar of the Bucs’ defense for years, Vea is set to enter the last year of his contract.
"[H]opefully Vita gets his back fixed and gets his deal done,” Mayfield said. “He’s the second-longest tenured Buc behind CG [Chris Godwin] and Vita deserves that. He’s the anchor of our defense. So, I hope they take care of him.”
Mayfield also brought up left tackle Tristan Wirfs’ negotiation from 2024 as a negative example of the Buccaneers’ negotiating style.
“I’ve sat here and watched these guys go through it — even Tristan,” Mayfield said. “So, talk about the best tackle in the league. Only person in NFL history that’s been an All-Pro at right and left, had to have a hold-in in training camp to get it done. So, disappointing. You hope they take care of their guys. But, like I said, it’s going to be a good year.”
It’s worth noting that Wirfs did not become a first-team All-Pro at left tackle until after his second contract was signed in early August of 2024.
Still, when asked directly if he has concerns about the way the Buccaneers have handled their proverbial franchise players, Mayfield said, “Not at all.”
“I think that’s an easy scapegoat to the outside media, but to be honest with you, inside the locker room, all that does is bring us closer together,” Mayfield said. “The downstairs aspect of our building is really, really special. And our guys know that. And they cherish that. So, it’s only bringing our guys together. That might be a negotiating tactic on their part. But, like I said when I got here in 2023, it’s a really close-knit locker room. And that’s the leadership that was here prior to me getting here. And just the way they carry each other, carry themselves, lead by example. And when it comes to things like this, it’s separate from the football thing. You take care of each other, you play on the field, good things happen, you take care of each other, and go from there.”
Mayfield may be making a distinction between the players part of the building (downstairs) and the football administration part of the building (upstairs) when talking about the media and scapegoats. But his own words demonstrate his disappointment with Tampa Bay’s front office when it comes to his and Vea’s respective contract situations.
In a frank press conference on Thursday morning, quarterback Baker Mayfield said he feels disrespected by the Buccaneers after his imposed deadline passed without receiving a new contract.
Mayfield laid out his issues with the franchise, but also left the door open to getting something done before the season if the club can work out an agreement with his agent.
But given Mayfield’s comments on Thursday, any agreement between the two sides feels unlikely.
“I wanted a deal done, and set the deadline, and told them it was going to be all ball after that. And I did mean that,” Mayfield said. “And I don’t know if they thought I was just going to take some of the offers that they gave. But I’m at the point of my career and understanding what I brought to this franchise — one, I’m very, very grateful for the chance they gave me, do not get me wrong on that. But I also really know what I’ve brought to this franchise leadership-wise and even play-wise. It’s been some of the best years of my career. And I think it’s only going to trend upwards. Just feeling comfortable in feeling that.
“So, disappointing in that regard to not have…to feel disrespected a little bit. And that’s really the disappointing part, to feel undervalued after thinking you’ve earned it.”
Jeremy Fowler of ESPN reports the Buccaneers offered Mayfield a two-year deal, which disappointed the QB. Mayfield told Fowler the Bucs were “pretty far” from a $50 million average annual value in the offer.
Since Mayfield arrived in 2023, he’s started every game for the franchise with a pair of postseason appearances. The club beat the Eagles in the 2023 postseason, but lost to Detroit in the divisional round before falling to Washington in the wild card round of the 2024 postseason. The team missed the playoffs in 2025.
Overall, the Bucs have gone 27-24 in the regular season with Mayfield at QB over the last three seasons.
“This is not a ‘poor me’ thing,” Mayfield said. “There’s a lot of other people who have it way worse off. But I can sit here and look at other quarterbacks and peers, and evaluate myself based on that and put myself in certain categories that, I deserve to be compensated for that. I think I’m a franchise quarterback. I’ve been told I’m a franchise quarterback. It’s been said publicly from ownership down, here. So to not have a deal done is very disappointing.
“But I said, the deadline was the deadline. I addressed the team to let them know I meant that. It’s all ball. I’m with these guys. I think all the guys that have been here know exactly who I am. The guys that are new here, I wanted to address that because they might’ve had a notion prior to coming here about who I am as a person. But it’s all team. It’s all about winning here now and what we’re going to do.”
Mayfield noted that part of the reason for his start-of-camp deadline was to avoid the contract becoming a distraction.
“Yeah, like I’ve told you guys, it’s all ball. I don’t want to talk about it,” Mayfield said, also noting that he’s not going to answer questions about the contract after Thursday. “And if you’ve waited this long to take care of your franchise quarterback, that’s too bad, because it’s only going to get worse from here. I’m going to have a really good year.”
But there is a chance the Bucs and Mayfield can put all of this behind them for an extension.
“They’re not talking to me, I know that,” Mayfield said. “If my agent answers it, he’s not going to bother me with it unless it’s actually recognized for my value.”
So that’s the opportunity. As for the future, Mayfield doesn’t see the Bucs tagging him next offseason (“There’d be a lot of dead money,” he said), but does anticipate their offer going up after a successful season.
“Obviously, yes,” Mayfield said. “But, I’ve been on the other side of the nasty business that is the NFL. And so, yeah, I have hope. But expecting and hoping [are] two different things. Yeah, I hope so. But all I can control is how I play this year and how the team does this year. And, for me, that’s wins. Good things happen when the team wins. The rest should take care of itself.
“I think if I hadn’t gone through a couple of different situations earlier on in my career, I’d probably be in a different head space,” Mayfield added. “It also helps being a little bit more mature now, and having different priorities in life. But, yeah, I’m at peace. I think what I’ve done here is my resume and I think it spoke for itself. And so, if that’s not recognized, that’s OK. I’m just going to continue to add to it.”
Despite feeling disrespected, Mayfield noted that the potential for more money isn’t his driving motivating factor.
“No. Money should never be the motivation in football,” Mayfield said. “It’s, how do I help this team win? That’s never going to be the motivation for me. When it comes to having a chip on your shoulder and all that, for me, it just puts me in the mindset of betting on myself. And that’s something I’m pretty familiar with. And it’s a good place to be. As a high-competitive guy, sometimes you have to put yourself backed into a corner and fight your way out. But I have a lot of guys and a lot of staff around me that are with me. So, I’m not alone in it. We’re fighting for the same goal, and that’s to be playing in February.”
And at this point, Mayfield says it’s “really easy” to just focus on getting prepared for the upcoming regular season.
“When you’re not presented with an offer that’s appealing whatsoever, it’s easy to turn the page,” Mayfield said. “But also, it’s that time of the year where you’re itching to get on the field. You’re itching to see how this team comes together, how the offense comes together in a new system with a new coach. It’s just the exciting time of year that, on paper, we’ve got a lot of potential. But it’s just potential.
“So, we know we have to put that all together. So, yeah, it’s easy to put that in the past when you’re coming together with a great group like this.”
The Buccaneers entered training camp with a pair of contract impasses taking center stage.
Quarterback Baker Mayfield is expected to play out the season on the final year of his deal after failing to come to agreement on an extension this offseason and defensive tackle Vita Vea requested a trade after trying to land a new contract of his own. At a press conference, Bowles was asked about keeping the focus on football as the negotiations play out publicly and said he isn’t worried about players taking their eyes off the ball.
“Well, there [are] players every year [that] you’re going to have them [with]. These happen to be two of our biggest players,” Bowles said, via a transcript from the team. “We haven’t had two of our biggest in a while, but we’ve had players every year. It just hasn’t been of that magnitude. But, it’s always about football. There [are] always going to be distractions just like there are on game day. There are going to be sudden changes and there are going to be sudden changes on the field. We have a very professional and mature group with a lot of leadership there, starting with Baker. So, he makes sure that’s separate. He makes sure the team knows that’s separate. Like I said, we’re not going to make this training camp about what he signed or what he didn’t sign or it being his contract year. We’re just going to play ball.”
Bowles said questions about whether there’s a chance of continued contract talks with Mayfield should be addressed to General Manager Jason Licht. Mayfield may have an opportunity to address that first while Bowles keeps his attention on making sure the team is ready to go for Week 1.
Safety Ifeatu Melifonwu wasn’t the only defensive player to join the Buccaneers on Wednesday.
The team confirmed Melifonwu’s signing and also announced that they have signed defensive tackle Travis Shaw to their 90-man roster.
Shaw played at North Carolina and Texas before going undrafted this year. He signed with the Patriots after the draft, but was waived earlier this month.
The move comes as the Bucs practice without defensive tackle Vita Vea. Vea has requested a trade, but head coach Todd Bowles said that he is on the sideline due to tweaking his back during a conditioning test this week.
The Bucs waived defensive lineman Haggai Ndubuisi on Wednesday as well. Ndubuisi signed with the team in April.
The Buccaneers have added a defensive player.
Tampa Bay has agreed to a one-year deal with safety Ifeatu Melifonwu, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Melifonwu, 27, spent last season with the Dolphins. He appeared in 16 games with eight starts, recording 53 total tackles with an interception and a sack.
A third-round pick in 2021, Melifonwu spent his first four seasons with the Lions.
Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles addressed defensive tackle Vita Vea sitting out practice during a Wednesday press conference from training camp.
Vea was an observer during the team’s first practice of camp, which was seen by most as part of the ongoing contract impasse that led Vea to request a trade away from the team this week. Bowles said that Vea’s absence from drills was not due to the contract, however, and is a result of the veteran tweaking his back during the team’s conditioning test on Tuesday.
Bowles also said that the team has not had any internal discussions about trading Vea in the wake of his request.
Left tackle Tristan Wirfs is also on the sideline at the moment. Bowles said that he hurt his hamstring during the conditioning test and is considered day-to-day moving forward.
Defensive tackle Vita Vea requested a trade this week, but he is at Buccaneers training camp for the first day of practice on Wednesday.
Vea is not taking part in the practice, however. Multiple reporters shared pictures of Vea on the practice field without a helmet while watching the rest of the team go through its workout.
Vea was also an observer at the team’s mandatory minicamp in the spring as part of his push for a new contract. That contract has not materialized, which led Vea to make his trade demand before training camp officially opened.
The eight-year veteran is set to make a base salary of $17 million in the final year of his current deal.
The Buccaneers announced three roster moves on Tuesday, the day before their first 2026 training camp practice.
The team waived rookie safety Ja’Qurious Conley with a non-football injury designation.
They also placed cornerback Chase Lucas and defensive lineman Haggai Ndubuisi on the active/physically unable to perform list.
Players can be removed from the PUP list after passing a physical.
Conley signed with the Buccaneers as an undrafted free agent out of Charlotte. He played three seasons at North Carolina before transferring to Charlotte in 2024, and in 2025, he registered 64 tackles and three interceptions.
Lucas entered the NFL as a seventh-round pick of the Lions in 2022. He made Detroit’s roster as a rookie and played 18 games in two seasons there, contributing six tackles.
During the 2024 offseason, he signed with the 49ers and ended up on the practice squad for the entire campaign. Lucas then made San Francisco’s active roster in 2025.
In his 15 games played last season, Lucas totaled nine tackles, a pass defensed and a quarterback hit.
Ndubuisi first participated in the International Player Pathway Program in 2022 and was allocated to the Cardinals as an offensive tackle. He saw action in one preseason game before being released by the Cardinals.
The following season, he returned to the NFL through the IPPP, this time going to the Broncos as a defensive lineman. He spent the 2023 campaign on Denver’s practice squad, then signed with Washington in 2024 and landed on the Commanders’ practice squad for the balance of that season.
Baker Mayfield’s deadline for agreeing to a new contract with the Buccaneers has passed.
According to Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times and Greg Auman of FOX Sports, talks between Mayfield and Tampa Bay have finished with the quarterback reporting to training camp on Tuesday.
That differs from what was reported by ESPN, which had noted that there was still an opportunity for the two sides to come to a deal.
Mayfield, who is set to become a free agent in March, had said throughout the offseason that his deadline for negotiations was the start of training camp.
He’s now set to have a cap number of $39.975 million in 2026 on the last year of his deal.
Depending on how the season goes, the Buccaneers could elect to franchise tag Mayfield in the 2027 offseason. That would put Mayfield in a position to earn $47.97 million on the one-year franchise tender.
But Tampa Bay may not find that to be the best use of its resources.
Either way, Mayfield is now set to play out 2026 on an expiring contract.
