Mike Evans Gives Crucial Stipulation to Buccaneers Before Free Agency

The legal tampering period in free agency begins on March 9, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are closer to losing a franchise legend than they ever had been.

Buccaneers wideout Mike Evans is officially set to test free agency on Monday, hitting the market for the very first time in his 12-year career. Evans, drafted by the Buccaneers in 2014 and since becoming one of the franchise's legendary players, was set to test the market two years ago before getting a deal done before the start of free agency. Now, Evans wants to see his other options, and the Buccaneers are letting him do so.

Evans will have plenty of suitors who can likely pay him more money than Tampa Bay can. That being said, though, Evans reportedly has a condition that might make retaining him quite a bit easier for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Mike Evans will allow Buccaneers to match free agency offers

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

According to FOX Sports' Greg Auman, Evans will entertain other offers from NFL teams on Monday. That being said, he and his agent will allow the Bucs to counter-offer any of those deals before he accepts them, which could be huge for Tampa Bay.

Mike Evans will talk to other teams when NFL free agent window opens Monday, but he and his agent will allow the Bucs to counter before he accepts anything from a new team. Bucs still aggressively involved.
— Greg Auman (@gregauman) March 8, 2026

The language used implies that it would be a counteroffer as opposed to a straight up matching offer, which could play heavily in the Bucs' favor. If Evans is willing to return to Tampa Bay for a little bit less than what the highest bidder is offering, the two teams could get something done fairly quickly and make sure Evans is a Buc for Life.

That doesn't mean the Bucs still can't be outpriced, however. If a team is still willing to pay above market value to get Evans, the Bucs may simply decline to counter the offer if it would hamstring them salary cap-wise. With this stipulation, though, a team would have to offer an extremely lucrative deal to price Evans out of Tampa Bay — and that's likely exactly what Evans and his agent are hoping for.

The legal tampering period begins at noon on Monday, but Evans and his agent have likely already heard from a number of teams in a roundabout fashion and know exactly what to expect. With that in mind, the Bucs will have a chance to respond to any offer he may get as they aggressively try to re-sign him.

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