Baker Mayfield had set the start of training camp as his personal deadline for a new deal, and when it passed without an agreement, he decided to play on the last year of his current contract and hit free agency in 2027.
Mayfield also aired his grievances publicly, and on Thursday, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ general manager, Jason Licht, cleared the air on the quarterback’s situation.
Jason Licht Stays Optimistic About Baker Mayfield
Losing Mayfield to the open market in free agency would be a franchise-altering setback for a team that won back-to-back NFC South titles in 2023 and 2024. Yet despite the quarterback’s public frustration, Licht made it clear the front office still sees him as the guy.
“I’m not going to get into specifics about the contract and all that stuff, but yeah, we do think he is [a franchise quarterback],” Licht said of Mayfield. “And we love Baker. Our feelings for Baker haven’t changed.”
“Baker is in a great place,” Licht added. “I’ve had discussions with him. He’s focused on winning. I’ve never seen him this focused.”
When asked about how Baker felt after not getting a new contract, Licht said, “Baker, as we all know here, is a very fiery competitor who’s not afraid to speak his mind. I’m sure he’s disappointed, frustrated; we were too. We’re in a good place. He’s focused on having the best year of his career.”
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Licht also described the franchise tag as a “tool” and indicated it could be used on Mayfield. He said, “You have to, in this business. You have to plan on these things… it is an option. We can plan on it, we can do it.”
A first franchise tag on Mayfield in 2027 is expected to cost around $46.77 million, but it will give Tampa Bay more time to negotiate with the quarterback while not allowing him to hit the open market.
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Mayfield finished 2025 with 3,693 passing yards, 26 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions across 17 games. According to PFN’s QB Impact Metric, he posted an impact score of 74.4, ranking 22nd in the league. It was a significant decline from his 2024 season performance, during which he posted an impact score of 86.1 and ranked fourth in the league.
Nagging injuries ruined the back half of the 2025 season for Mayfield, which is why the Buccaneers weren’t high on giving him the contract that he desired this offseason.
Last week, Mayfield said that he felt “disrespected a little bit” by the Buccaneers in contract negotiations. He said, “That’s really the disappointing part, to feel undervalued after, you know, thinking you’ve earned it… I can sit here and look at other QBs and peers and evaluate myself based on that and put myself in categories that I deserve to get compensated for that.”
He also reportedly described the franchise’s handling of players’ contract negotiations as “shady,” which resulted in him facing backlash on social media.
Sitting out this extension gives the Buccaneers another full year of evidence before committing $200-plus million on Mayfield. Moreover, if the 31-year-old quarterback plays well, he might end up getting significantly more money than he would have this year.
