There’s a sneaky detail in Baker Mayfield’s contract that adds another layer to his negotiations with the Buccaneers
Baker Mayfield provided insight on where things currently stand between him and the Buccaneers. There’s a detail in his contract that adds a another layer to the conversation.
Baker Mayfield’s comments about his contract negotiations with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have been a major talking point over the last several days and for good reason.
As we all know, having a good-to-great quarterback in place is essential if a team wants to have success. Statistically speaking, Mayfield has been one of the NFL’s better quarterbacks over the last few years and it’s certainly safe to say he’s outplayed the three-year, $100 million deal he signed back in 2024.
Therefore, it’s easy to see why it’s integral to get a deal done. Especially when considering Mayfield’s contract voids on February 20, just six days after the Super Bowl.
Why is Baker Mayfield’s void date important?
For starters, an expired deal would force the Buccaneers to eat a little more than $30.1 million in dead money. That’s not good from the outset, but especially when considering the Bucs are currently projected to have just under $40 million in cap space, next year, per Over The Cap.
Secondly, this would take both the franchise tag and the transition tag off the table. Completely.
That’s because the franchise tag is currently projected to be more than $50.1 million and the transition tag is projected to be more than $43 million. Using simple math, that comes out to a cap hit that would count around $74 million or a little more than $80 million.
Yes, that’s right: Mayfield would count that much against the cap, himself.
It’s unsustainable and illogical. Good front offices don’t operate like that, especially Jason Licht and Co.
The reason why the franchise tag and transition tags are worth mentioning is because a lot of times, teams will tag a player in order to extend the negotiation process. Usually, the hope is they’ll negotiate a new deal before the tag deadline hits in mid-July, but that doesn’t always happen.
That wouldn’t even be an option in this scenario, however, because again, that would put the Buccaneers way over the salary cap to where they’ll have to make big-time restructures, or cuts, to get back into the green.
Will this cause the Buccaneers to speed up their timeline with Baker Mayfield?
I don’t think so, because it’s not like Licht and Mike Greenberg are unaware of this situation. This is all part of the plan and the final price tag is up to the Glazers, ultimately. It’s not like Licht is spending his money, obviously.
It doesn’t mean negotiations are over if Mayfield’s contract voids. Not by any means. However, it’s going to make the hill tougher to climb and that’s something the Buccaneers should try to reasonably avoid at all costs (no pun intended).