Baker Mayfield said contract talks with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are “not anywhere close” to what he is looking for and set a deadline of the start of training camp to either reach an agreement or pause negotiations.
“The contract stuff, it’s happening, it’s starting — talks and whatnot,” Mayfield told reporters on Friday. “But, not anywhere close to what we were thinking. So, would love to be here long-term, and as of right now, that’s not exactly the case.”
Mayfield first came to Tampa on a one-year, $4 million deal ahead of the 2023 season as the Bucs tried to fill the role of the retired Tom Brady. Tampa rewarded Mayfield’s stellar 2023 season with a three-year, $100 million contract, with $39.975 million set to count against the cap this season.
“But I’m under contract for 2026. The guys in that locker room, the staff know that I’m still going to be me — I’m still going to do everything I can to help this team win a Super Bowl,” Mayfield said. “To me, that’s the priority. Everything else will take care of itself.”
The 31-year-old earned back-to-back Pro Bowl selections in 2023 and 2024 while helping the Buccaneers capture consecutive division titles, though the team limped to an 8-9 record last season and missed the playoffs.
Despite the differences between the two sides in negotiations, Mayfield expressed his desire to stay in Tampa.
“First and foremost, regardless, we’ve built roots here in Tampa. We love the community, we love being here. They’ve embraced us. We enjoy being here and, obviously, are going to raise kids here,” Mayfield said.
However, he made clear that he wants to focus on football, not contract negotiations, when his team takes the field for training camp.
“Obviously, yes, I would love to have a long-term deal done. But, they know my deadline — as soon as training camp starts, we’re not doing (anymore) contract stuff. It’s all ball,” Mayfield said. “So, it’s not up to me when that gets done by. So, hopefully before that. If not, we’re still going to have a good year.”
The top overall pick by Cleveland the 2018 NFL Draft, Mayfield guided the Browns to the playoffs in 2020 — their first postseason berth since 2002 — before requesting a trade out of Cleveland after the team acquired Deshaun Watson during the 2022 offseason. The Browns shipped Mayfield to the Carolina Panthers for a fifth-round pick, and he requested his release and signed with the Los Angeles Rams later in 2022.
In eight NFL seasons with the Browns, Panthers, Rams and Buccaneers, Mayfield has completed 63.5% of his passes for 28,525 yards, 197 touchdowns and 101 interceptions.
–Field Level Media
