Everything you need to know about Buccaneers’ salary cap challenges, solutions

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have some work to do with the salary cap in 2026. The Bucs have a modest amount as it stands, but incoming draft picks will narrow that margin, and they'll need to make a few moves to help clear up some of that cap space — especially if they want to be aggressive in free agency this year.

Here's what Tampa Bay's cap situation looks like in 2026, what it could do to create more space and who could be leaving and returning to the team:

Buccaneers salary cap in 2026
Who are the Bucs paying?
How can the Bucs create cap space?
Pending Buccaneers free agents
The bottom line
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Buccaneers salary cap in 2026

Tampa Bay Buccaneers General Manager Jason Licht watches the action against the Pittsburgh Steelers | Barry Reeger-Imagn Images

The salary cap goes up every year. It was set at $279.2 million in 2025, and the new number hasn't been announced yet, so we'll go with Over the Cap's estimation of $295.5 million — it actually ended up being a bit more than expected last year, so there may be a pleasant surprise there, but for the sake of the excercise, let's do it this way.

If this were the estimate, the Bucs would have $24,698,563 in cap space in 2026, with $15,723,758 of that rolling over from 2025 to 2026. That would place them at 16th in the league, exactly league average, heading into the new season. That would still give them some opportunity to do a few things, but there's some leeway they could work with as well to create some more room — more on that later.

Who are the Bucs paying?

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) throws a pass against the Carolina Panthers in the first half | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

As it stands, the Buccaneers are paying out $287,211,195 for their roster as it stands in 2026, per Over the Cap. Their biggest hit to the cap is, of course, quarterback Baker Mayfield, entering the last year of his deal with $38,975,000 against the cap. Mayfield restructured his deal last year to help alleviate the cap, but that may not happen this year for reasons we'll go into below.

The second-biggest hit is tackle Tristan Wirfs, accounting for $36,328,582, and then wideout Chris Godwin, accounting for $33,683,000. RT Luke Goedeke and CB Zyon McCollum, both of whom received extensions from Jason Licht this offseason, account for $22,681,200 and $15,550,500 as it stands, respectively, and Mike Evans, despite being a free agent, currently counts $13,074,000 toward the cap due to the void years in his initial two-year deal.

The last two heavy hitters in the cap department are defensive tackle Vita Vea ($22,194,462) and safety Antoine Winfield Jr. ($27,466,000). No one else's cap hit goes higher than $9 million on the roster at the moment, so those are the players that take up a majority of the cap.

Finally, Tampa Bay will have to pay its draft class, too. Per Over the Cap, that's set to cost about $11,755,452, so as it stands, the Bucs will need to free up some cap space to make things work in 2026. So how do they do that?

How can the Bucs create cap space?

Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive tackle Tristan Wirfs (78) on the field in the first quarter at Bank of America Stadium. | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

There are a few ways that Jason Licht can open up some cap space this year and help the Bucs potentially make some moves (if, of course, he so chooses). Here are a few ways that can happen:

Restructure, restructure, restructure

The easiest way to open up cap space during a cap year is to restructure a player's contract to move their salary into a signing bonus. That salary then no longer counts toward the cap, but that signing bonus is then dispersed throughout the remaining length of the contract. That makes it easy to open up cap space during that year, but it also adds on to the dead money that the team would have to deal with if they were to move on from the player.

Naturally, the biggest contract that can be restructured is Mayfield's. The Bucs could free up $19,275,000 from a Mayfield restructure, but that would push even more dead money down the road for Mayfield, who is currently accounting for $30,150,000 in 2027. This might have been a good move before the season started, but adding more dead money to Mayfield's contract after a big regression in the back half of this year might not be wise, so Licht may not go for it the way he did last year to open up some cap space.

There are a few other players who could offer some cap space if restructured, like Chris Godwin ($15,525,000) and Vita Vea ($7,850,000), but they're also older, and pushing dead cap down the road could lead to ruin if neither player is sticking around for too long. Instead, the Bucs could look to restructure some younger players — tackles Wirfs ($18,588,750) and Goedeke ($15,206,250) would be prime candidates for this. Winfield Jr. would also be a decent option at $13,713,750, but he'll also be entering year three of his deal in 2026 and he hasn't shown much to prove he's worth his money in years one and two.

If the Bucs were to restructure Wirfs and Goedeke, they'd earn $33,795,000 in cap space. Add another young player like Winfield Jr., and you'd be up to $47,508,750, but restructuring him — and the other players with age concerns of questions of play — will be a matter of whether or not Licht believes the dead money down the road is worth the free cap space now.

Extensions

Another way to open up cap is extensions on current contracts.

There was a lot of talk that Baker Mayfield could get an extension done this offseason, but that talk has faded after a brutal back half. Mayfield would likely command around a market deal of $50 million a year, which would open a lot more cap, but Licht is likely to be far more cautious after what happened at the back end of this season.

The Bucs will be faced with a decision when it comes to Calijah Kancey, as their first-rounder from 2023 has a fifth-year option in play next year. He has shown flashes but has been frequently hurt, so the Bucs might not want to rush on that — pass rusher Yaya Diaby, however, has proven to at least be a high-quality edge rusher over three years and could get locked up early before he hits the last year of his rookie deal next year. Diaby's valuation by Over the Cap is at $21,135,000 per year, if he were to get extended. That could open up some cash for the Bucs, too, if they were to go that route.

There's also guard Cody Mauch, who the Bucs drafted alongside those two in 2023. Mauch played well in 2024 but suffered a knee injury in 2025 that sidelined him for the entire year, so waiting to see how he bounces back might be the play there.

Pending Buccaneers free agents

Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans (13) reacts after catching a pass against Atlanta Falcons safety Jessie Bates III (3) | Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

The Buccaneers have a few free agents they will have to re-sign, too, which will cost more money. Here are the notable players that are likely gone in Tampa Bay, and two that might return to the team, depending on what the money looks like:

Players likely leaving Bucs

• LB Lavonte David
• RB Rachaad White
• OLB Haason Reddick
• DT Logan Hall
• CB Jamel Dean

David is likely to retire, and White has been posting all over social media that he's ready to leave Tampa Bay. Reddick's experiment in Tampa Bay was a failure, and Hall, Tampa Bay's second-round pick from 2022, likely hasn't impressed enough to earn a spot back with the Bucs. Dean had an excellent year in 2025, so he likely played himself out of the money the Bucs are willing to spend — even still, his injuries are a cause for concern in Tampa Bay.

The Bucs could bring Hall and Dean back on smaller deals, if the two were very willing. The other three players are likely gone and will not be coming back.

Players Bucs could bring back

• TE Cade Otton
• WR Mike Evans

Otton has been a reliable tight end for years now, but he was non-existent in this offense in 2025 and struggled with drops when he was in. There are worse tight ends, but there are certainly better, so the Bucs could bring Otton back if they really liked him. If they didn't, he could test free agency and hope to get a fresh start elsewhere while the Bucs look to upgrade at the position.

Mike Evans is the wildcard. It seemed at the beginning of the year that Evans was on his way to hanging it up, but he suffered two huge injuries and only played in eight games. That loss of play might influence him to come back for one more year in hopes of going out on better terms, but if he is to come back, the price would be interesting. Evans would likely only play for another year or two, so the Bucs would have to negotiate the right number for him to come back if he so chooses.

The bottom line

Tampa Bay Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht speaks during the NFL Scouting Combine at the Indiana Convention Center. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The Buccaneers have a decent starting point when it comes to the cap. With their $15,723,758 rolling over and the cap potentially ending up higher than Over the Cap's $295.5 million, Tampa Bay could use some restructures — and maybe an extension or two — to open up quite a bit of cap space in 2026.

General manager Jason Licht has been a conservative general manager since Tom Brady's departure in 2022, opting to develop in-house talent instead of going out and signing free agents. There's an extra urgency with the Bucs this time around, though, and Licht could look to get more aggressive in 2026 with numerous holes across the roster. He'll likely wait on any major extensions, but with a few restructures and most of the team's impactful free agents likely leaving, Licht and the Bucs could very well have the cap space to make some splashes in free agency this year.

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