Baker Mayfield pulled the plug on contract negotiations with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers when a new deal wasn’t done by his self-imposed deadline of the start of training camp, which was July 28. Shortly thereafter, information about the contract discussions started to surface.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler revealed at the end of July that the Buccaneers had offered Mayfield a two-year contract extension worth slightly more than $100 million while the quarterback was adamant about a longer commitment. There were structural issues with the offer as the guarantees were considered insufficient.
Mayfield preference for a longer deal was a reasonable demand. It is consistent with the market place. Matthew Stafford, who is 38, is the only quarterback to have ever signed a deal averaging at least $50 million per year with fewer than four new years. The one-year extension Stafford received from the Los Angeles Rams in May is at $55 million per year.
ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter cited length of contract as a major sticking point for Mayfield during an Aug. 19 appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show.” He also stated the Buccaneers’ offer would have put Mayfield among the NFL’s five highest-paid quarterbacks.
Four other quarterbacks besides Stafford have contracts averaging $55 million per year (Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, Trevor Lawrence and Jordan Love). Patrick Mahomes and Dak Prescott are the only members of the $60 million-per-year club.
NFL Network insider Mike Garafolo revealed on Aug. 20 to “The Rich Eisen Show” that Mayfield was open to a two-year extension. His camp reportedly countered the Buccaneers with their own two-year proposal before talks broke down.
Mayfield is in the final year of a three-year, $100 million contract, averaging $33,333,333 per year worth up to $115 million with incentives, he signed in March 2024. He is making $40 million in 2026 consisting of a $10 million base salary and a $30 million 10th day of the league year roster bonus. Mayfield’s 2026 salary cap number is $39.975 million, which includes $1 million of the $5 million of incentives in 2026 being classified as likely to be earned.
Mayfield’s 2026 compensation is being erroneously revealed as $27 million in some circles because $13 million of the $30 million roster bonus was prorated on the salary cap during an April 2025 contract restructure. The entire $30 million was paid to Mayfield on June 15.
It would be up to Mayfield’s camp to initiate new talks to get something done before Tampa Bay’s regular-season opener against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sept. 13 because of his self-imposed deadline. There seemed to be less acrimony in Mayfield’s negotiations than with defensive tackle Vita Vea, who requested a trade before signing a one-year, $30 million extension last week.
Former Buccaneers head coach Jon Gruden suggested that could be the case during Monday’s appearance on Tampa Bay’s 95.7 FM WDAE. “I think they’re a lot closer than people realize,” Gruden stated. “But I expect it to get done, indeed.”
Fowler’s contract numbers seem plausible because they are in line with the average of Mayfield getting franchise tags in both 2027 and 2028. A $55 million-per-year offer would have to be extremely backloaded with modest guarantees given this dynamic.
Under the NFL collective bargaining agreement’s formula for non-unique franchise tags, the 2027 quarterback number projects to 14.529% of the 2027 salary cap. That’s down from this year’s 14.573%.
The 2027 quarterback franchise tag should be $47 million with next year’s salary cap being set at just under $323.5 million. The 7.4% growth in the salary cap over the current $301.2 million figure would be consistent with the 7.88% increase from 2025.
A second franchise tag in 2028 at a CBA-mandated 20% increase would be $56.4 million for a two-year total of $103.4 million. The two-year average would be $51.7 million with back-to-back franchise tags.
Structurally, any deal acceptable to Mayfield would likely have to be consistent with other high-priced two-year extensions and two-year contracts. There have been a couple of two-year extensions in 2026 at or near the top of a positional market. Washington Commanders offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil became the NFL’s first and only $30 million-per-year offensive lineman in March. The Indianapolis Colts made Jonathan Taylor the league’s second-highest-paid running back (now third) at $22 million per year in early August.
Taylor is getting 22.73% of his new money this year in his remaining contract year while Tunsil has 21.59%. The 2027 compensation is fully guaranteed at signing for both players. Tunsil also has 31.48% of his 2028 compensation (his second new contract year) guaranteed for injury that becomes fully guaranteed on the 5th day of the 2027 league year. Taylor doesn’t have any guaranteed money in 2028.
The most relevant two-year contract belongs to quarterback Daniel Jones. Jones, who was designated as a transition player by the Colts, signed a two-year, $88 million deal, averaging $44 million per year, in March despite tearing his right Achilles in a Week 14 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars last season. Incentives make the deal worth up to $100 million. There are $60 million in guarantees where $49.49 million is fully guaranteed at signing. Jones is making $50 million, which is 56.81% of the total value, in the first year of his deal.
Another relevant two-year contract was signed by wide receiver Mike Evans in 2024. The Buccaneers gave Evans $41 million over the two years with $35 million in guarantees where $29 million was fully guaranteed at signing. The maximum value of the deal was $52 million thanks to incentives and salary escalators. Evans received 56.1% or $23 million of the $41 million in the first year of his deal.
How the Buccaneers treated Tom Brady, Mayfield’s predecessor at quarterback, can’t be ignored either. The two-year, $50 million contract Brady signed in 2020 was fully guaranteed. This contract and the one-year extension Brady signed in 2021 contained a no-trade clause and a provision preventing a franchise or transition designation after the expiration of the deals.
In order to prevent Mayfield from playing out his contract, the Buccaneers will need to factor these contractual elements into the equation. The Buccaneers probably have to do something along the following lines at minimum.
- Signing bonus: $27.5 million
- Guaranteed money: $110 million
- Fully guaranteed at signing: $87.5 million
- New money total: $100 million ($140 million over three years)
- Maximum value: $115 million ($15 million in incentives and salary escalators)
- Contract length: Two-year extension
- Average per year: $50 million
- Maximum average per year: $57.5 million
| Year | Base salary | Signing bonus proration | Salary cap number | Cash flow | New money | New money % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
2026 |
$2,500,000 |
$17,475,000 |
$37,975,000 |
$60,000,000 |
$20,000,000 |
20% |
|
Guaranteed for skill, injury & salary cap |
||||||
|
2027 |
$35,000,000 |
$17,475,000 |
$52,475,000 |
$95,000,000 |
$55,000,000 |
55% |
|
Guaranteed for skill, injury & salary cap |
||||||
|
2028 |
$45,000,000 |
$17,475,000 |
$62,475,000 |
$140,000,000 |
$100,000,000 |
100% |
|
Guaranteed for injury; $22.5M guaranteed for skill, injury & salary cap; $22.5M guaranteed for skill & salary cap on fifth day of 2027 league year |
||||||
|
2029 (voids) |
$50,000,000 |
$11,700,000 |
$17,200,000 |
N/A |
N/A |
|
|
Voids on 23rd day prior to start of 2029 league year |
||||||
|
2030 (voids) |
$50,000,000 |
$5,500,000 |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
|
|
Voids on 23rd day prior to start of 2029 league year |
||||||
Mayfield’s $30 million roster bonus isn’t being included in the guaranteed money metrics. That’s because the $30 million was already paid to Mayfield over two months ago.
The incentives from Mayfield’s current contract would carry over into 2026 for the new deal. The same thresholds and dollar amounts as with the incentives would be the salary escalator for 2027 and 2028.
Mayfield has $2.5 million tied to how he performs. He can make $500,000 each for ranking in the NFL’s top 10 or NFC’s top five in the following categories: passer rating (minimum of 224 pass attempts), touchdown passes, passing yards, completion percentage (minimum of 224 pass attempts) and yards per pass (minimum of 224 pass attempts).
The remaining $2.5 million is tied to Tampa Bay’s playoff success and Mayfield’s regular-season offensive playtime being at least 75%. Mayfield gets $500,000 for winning a wild card playoff game. It’s another $750,000 for winning a divisional playoff game. An NFC Championship game win is worth an additional $500,000. Winning the Super Bowl earns an extra $750,000.
Mayfield’s existing fake/dummy 2027 and 2028 contract years are obviously turned into real contract years with the extension. The voiding date of the fake/dummy 2029 contract year moves back two years from the 23rd day before the 2027 league year starts to the 23rd day before the 2029 league year starts.
The existing bonus proration from these years remains intact. That’s $11.975 million each in 2027 and 2028. There’s $6.2 million in 2029.
The Buccaneers are comfortable carrying Mayfield at a $39.975 million cap number without a new deal. The extension provides a slight amount of cap relief, $2 million, from Mayfield’s existing 2026 cap hit. A fake/dummy 2030 contract year was added for proration purposes with Mayfield’s $27.5 million signing bonus.
Mayfield’s $60 million is the most cash an NFL player makes for 2026 assuming none of the signing bonus is deferred into 2027. Mahomes’ $56.75 million is currently tops in 2026 cash.
Mayfield’s $52.475 million 2027 cap number would provide Tampa Bay with significant cap relief compared to designating him as a franchise player next offseason. If those 2027 through 2029 contract years void, the Buccaneers will have a separate $30.15 million 2027 cap charge from the bonus proration in these years regardless of whether a franchise tag is used on Mayfield. The combined 2027 cap charge with Mayfield getting franchised would be $77.15 million. A timely extension would mean Tampa Bay being $24.675 million better off salary cap wise.
Mayfield’s cash-flow percentages are slightly under Evans’, Jones’, Taylor’s and Tunsil’s at the relevant junctures of these deals. That’s the trade-off for better salary guarantees. Mayfield doesn’t have a fully guaranteed contract like Brady but his entire $45 million salary in 2028 is fully guaranteed next March on the 15th. The chances of Mayfield being released before this guarantee-vesting date regardless of how he played in 2026 is remote considering half or $22.5 million of his 2028 salary was fully guaranteed at signing. Mayfield having his entire 2028 salary fully guaranteed early also mirrors the third-year guarantee vesting in the three-year deal Tyler Linderbaum signed with the Las Vegas Raiders as an unrestricted free agent in March when he massively reset the center market.
Mayfield gets the no-trade clause but doesn’t have the provision preventing the franchise or transition tag in 2029. It may not be necessary anyway because 120% of Mayfield’s $62.475 million 2028 cap number is $74.97 million. That’s how much putting a franchise tag on Mayfield in 2029 would cost under this deal.
The Buccaneers should have motivation to extend Mayfield’s contract in 2028 if he continued to perform at a high level because of this price. The top of the quarterback market should be over $70 million with 2027 being Lamar Jackson’s contract year and 2024 draft picks Jayden Daniels, Drake Maye and Caleb Williams and Bo Nix becoming eligible for contract extensions in January as soon as the 2026 regular season ends.
Gruden may be overly optimistic in his prediction of Mayfield getting a new deal soon. It wouldn’t be surprising for Mayfield to drive an extremely hard bargain in negotiations after having to incur the risk of injury and poor performance while playing out his contract provided he has a 2026 season that’s better than his average year since joining the Buccaneers in 2023. In Mayfield’s three seasons with Tampa Bay, he has averaged (rounded to the nearest whole number) completing 66.3% of his passes for 4,079 yards with 32 touchdowns and 12 interceptions to post a 97.4 passer rating.
