The Tampa Bay Buccaneers still don’t have a long-term answer on Baker Mayfield, and that silence is starting to say plenty.
Mayfield is entering the final season of the three-year, $100 million deal he signed in 2024, and what once looked like a straightforward extension has turned into a real waiting game. His self-imposed deadline to work out a new contract before training camp passed without a deal, and what had been assumed for a while - that Tampa would lock up its quarterback and keep moving forward - is no longer a given.
For a stretch, the tension around the situation felt real enough to make a split seem possible. Then training camp got rolling, the temperature came down, and Mayfield stuck to his promise not to let the contract standoff bleed into his play. He’s also made clear he’s excited about the season ahead, going so far as to say the Buccaneers will “shock a lot of people” with what they do on the field.
That confidence fits the version of Mayfield Tampa has seen before. He’s tended to play his sharpest when he’s carrying something on his back, and this year gives him plenty of that.
Still, the contract question lingers, and it’s not going away anytime soon. According to ESPN’s Jenna Laine, general manager Jason Licht is “very optimistic” that Mayfield will be Tampa’s quarterback “beyond the 2026 season.”
Licht addressed the situation during the WFLA broadcast of the Buccaneers’ third preseason game at the Jacksonville Jaguars, a 19-0 loss that featured a rough offensive showing. When asked about Mayfield’s future, he tried to strike a hopeful tone.
"I'm very optimistic about it," Licht said during the WFLA broadcast of the Bucs' third preseason game at the Jacksonville Jaguars. "He wants to play.
He wants to prove to us that he is the franchise quarterback that we said that he was. So, we'll just have to see how it plays out.
I'll never close the door on anything in the short term, but right now, he's focused on football."
That’s the quote, but it doesn’t exactly slam the door shut on anything. Licht’s mention that he’d “never close the door on anything in the short term” leaves plenty of room for interpretation, especially with the franchise tag sitting there as a possible move that could keep Mayfield in Tampa for the 2027 season.
And the wording matters here. “Beyond 2026” is a lot different from saying the team is working toward a long-term extension.
So the question hanging over this all is simple: does Licht genuinely believe the Buccaneers and Mayfield will land on a new deal, or is Tampa keeping every option open, including a tag-and-evaluate approach next year?
Either way, this has been brewing for months, and the longer it goes unresolved, the more the possibility of a breakup grows. The stakes are high on both sides.
If Mayfield has the kind of season Tampa expects, he’s likely to command a much bigger payday than what was on the table. If he falls short and the Buccaneers stumble, the fallout could be substantial, with major changes likely and a new head coach and potentially a new quarterback in the picture.
For now, both sides are betting on the same thing: Mayfield delivering again with a giant chip on his shoulder.
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