During his Tampa Bay Buccaneers tenure, Baker Mayfield has emerged as one of the superior quarterbacks in the NFL, but that’s not what his contract says. He’s currently the 16th highest-paid quarterback, behind guys like Deshaun Watson and Jordan Love, despite leading Tampa Bay to the playoffs two out of the three seasons he’s started for them.
Now, with contract negotiations stalling, one NFL insider believes he could screw the Buccaneers over.
NFL Insider Speculates What Baker Mayfield Might Do Due to Contract Dispute With Buccaneers
Mike Florio of NBC Sports’ Pro Football Talk hypothesized how Tampa Bay’s contract negotiations with Mayfield could go down, saying, “They (Buccaneers) may be right. They may offer him more than anyone else will offer, and come March of 2027 Baker Mayfield may take less from another team just to stick it to the Buccaneers for not doing the right thing, for not offering him more, for not showing greater appreciation.
“‘I’ll take less to go to a team that really wants me and is willing to overextend what it even thought it would do, even if that’s less than what I’d get from the Buccaneers.'”
While this is a completely hypothetical scenario, Florio isn’t crazy to suggest it.
Mayfield is entering the 2026 season on an expiring deal, and since there hasn’t been any positive momentum reported in negotiations, it’s not too early to think about his possibilities outside of Tampa Bay.
He’s been the heart and soul of the offense since taking over in 2023. Though injuries hampered what looked to be a potential MVP-level season for him in 2025, his 2024 season was among the best in the league.
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That year, Mayfield threw for 4,500 yards and 41 touchdowns to 16 interceptions, posting a PFN QB Impact Grade of 86.1, ranking 4th among his position.
Florio went on to say, “That’s the risk they’re taking, and you get state taxes that come into play because of Florida, but there’s a chance he won’t care when March rolls around. If there is a team that puts the hard sell, even if the APY is lower than what the Buccaneers are offering, I don’t rule out the possibility that he’ll take that lesser deal.”
Moving away from Tampa Bay would be hard given their talent, but Mayfield deserves to be properly compensated for his efforts. While his statistics are largely great, much of his value comes from his passionate leadership.
If Mayfield and the Buccaneers can’t get a deal done soon, he could opt to play 2026 out with major uncertainty headed into his future.
