NFL Insider Says Bucs Fans Shouldn’t Worry About Baker Mayfield 'Yet'

Will we see a deal get made before the Buccaneers hit training camp?

Nov 16, 2025; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) scrambles against the Buffalo Bills during the second quarter of the game at Highmark Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-Imagn Images | Mark Konezny-Imagn Images

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers took a chance on Baker Mayfield in 2023, and so far, it has paid dividends. Mayfield revitalized his career after playing for the Browns, Panthers and Rams on the road to Tampa Bay, and his tenure so far has seen him win a playoff game in 2023, throw over 40 touchdowns in 2024 and play at an MVP level for the first half of 2025.

The second half of 2025, however, was a rough showing. That rough showing is typically attributed to injuries that Mayfield suffered during the first half of the season, but that second half may cause some complications as Mayfield seeks an extension in the last year of his deal. Mayfield told media last week that while contract negotiations have started, the two sides are far apart and Mayfield has set a training camp deadline to get the extension done this offseason.

“Not anywhere close to what we were thinking. Would love to be here long term, but as of right now, that’s not exactly the case," Mayfield said, per the Tampa Bay Times' Rick Stroud. "But I’m under contract for 2026. The guys in that locker room [and] the staff know that I’m still gonna be me. I’m still going to do everything I can to help this team win a Super Bowl. To me, that’s the priority — everything else will take care of itself. “

Those words may seem worrying to many Bucs fans, but one senior Sports Illustrated writer doesn't think anyone should be worried about Mayfield's contract — at least not yet.

Nothing to Worry About With Baker Mayfield Yet

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

Sports Illustrated writer Albert Breer went over a few of his recent NFL takeaways, and he stressed that Mayfield and Tampa Bay's back-and-forth is a normal part of the negotiating process in that Mayfield is unlikely to abide by the strict deadline he set for the Bucs if the right offer comes to the table.

"The most basic piece of the looming negotiation (you’ll see in a second why I call it a looming negotiation) is that the quarterback wants to be in Tampa, and the Bucs want Mayfield as their starting quarterback for the foreseeable future," Breer wrote. "Most of the time, when those two conditions exist at that particular position, a deal gets worked out. That's because having your quarterback in place and under contract is too important for those involved not to find a resolution."

It is abundantly clear that the Bucs want Mayfield long-term and Mayfield feels the same way, so it feels like only a matter of time before a deal gets done. Whether or not that gets done during training camp or after the season remains to be seen, but it's hard to imagine that the two sides cannot come close to a deal.

That being said, the price has to be right. Mayfield is currently making $33.3 million on the final year of his deal, and he certainly wants to be paid more than that. A common benchmark has been around $50 million APY, and Breer's conversations with NFL agents seem to confirm that his value lies somewhere in that area.

"I talked to a couple prominent agents on Friday to get their takes and the comps they raised were Jared Goff, Tua Tagovailoa and Brock Purdy, and in each case, they emphasized the importance of what Mayfield would get in the first three years of a new deal—the portion that would have the guarantees in it," Breer wrote. "The agents agreed that the baseline should be $50 million per year over the first three years of the deal, and a new-money APY (which is how most deals are publicly measured) higher than that."

Mayfield will participate in the last week of OTAs, which started Tuesday, with mandatory minicamp right after that. Mayfield's deadline of training camp will be at the end of July, and it remains to be seen if the Bucs meet that deadline — but even if they don't, there doesn't seem to be too much to worry about this early in the process.

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