The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and quarterback Baker Mayfield have agreed to a three-year contract worth $100 million total and $50 million guaranteed, sources told ESPN on Sunday.
Mayfield will make $30 million guaranteed in 2024, $30 million (with $20 million guaranteed) in 2025 and $40 million in 2026, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. There are $5 million a year in incentives, bringing the maximum contract value to $115 million.
Mayfield confirmed the agreement in a statement to Schefter.
“I wanted the opportunity to come back,” Mayfield said. “I love the coach [Todd] Bowles and staff. “I'm happy to be here and I want to win more in the postseason.”
Mayfield signed a one-year deal worth $4 million with the Buccaneers in March 2023, giving him the monumental task of replacing seven-time Super Bowl winner Tom Brady.
Mayfield led the Bucs to impressive road wins against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 1 and the New Orleans Saints in Week 4. But that's what he managed to do at the end of the season: lead the Bucs to wins in five of the final six games, which dramatically changed his team's fortunes and revived his career.
First there was a 29-25 comeback against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 14 in which Mayfield connected with tight end Cade Otton for an 11-yard touchdown with 36 seconds left. Then in Week 15, Mayfield became the first opposing quarterback in NFL history to post a perfect 158.3 passer rating at Lambeau Field as the Bucs defeated the Green Bay Packers 34-20. In that game, he threw for 381 yards and four touchdowns. He followed up with a two-touchdown performance in a 30-12 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 16.
Mayfield's 28 touchdowns during the regular season ranked seventh in the league and were the best of his career. His 2.8 touchdown-to-interception ratio tied San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy for ninth in the league. His 4,044 passing yards also ranked ninth, and the most in a single season of Mayfield's career. He also posted a career-best 64.3 completion percentage.
In the wild card round of the playoffs, Mayfield threw for 337 yards and three touchdowns in a 32-9 rout of the Philadelphia Eagles. The following week, in the divisional round, Mayfield threw for 349 passing yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions in a 31-23 loss to the Detroit Lions. Mayfield's 106.3 passer rating in those two playoff games was the highest of any Buccaneers quarterback in postseason history. His postseason touchdown-to-interception ratio of 3.0 also matched Brady's during his tenure with the Buccaneers.
Mayfield, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 draft, led the Cleveland Browns to their first playoff victory in 26 years after the 2020 season. But he was traded to the Carolina Panthers in July 2022, after the Browns acquired Deshaun Watson. The Panthers fired Mayfield after he went 1-5 as a starter in 2022 and spent five games with the Los Angeles Rams.
Mayfield's agent, Tom Mills, said in a statement to ESPN's Jenna Laine that after the Panthers waived his client, “he never complained and always believed in himself. This contract is the result of that attitude, as well as of his ability.” and I'm grateful to the Buccaneers for giving him the opportunity to continue his career.”
In addition to his efforts on the field this season, Mayfield and his wife, Emily, established the Baker and Emily Mayfield Foundation in Tampa to “level the playing field” for disadvantaged children and families, with events supporting the Early Learning Coalition of Hillsborough County and the Boys & Girls Club of Tampa Bay.
Mayfield, 28, has thrown for 20,322 yards with 130 touchdowns and 74 interceptions in his career.
ESPN's Jeremy Fowler contributed to this report.
