Vita Vea will end up playing for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2026 and there’s nothing he can do about it
Jason Licht promptly shut down Vita Vea trade talks when he spoke with reporters on Thursday and the end result of this whole situation will feature Vea on the field at some point this season.
Jason Licht made it very clear about Vita Vea and a possible trade when he spoke to reporters on Thursday.
“I have no plans of trading Vita Vea,” said Licht.
Now, of course, Jason Licht would accept a Vita Vea trade if it were an offer he can’t refuse. However, that’s highly unlikely to happen and almost out of the realm of possibility. Unless a team is absolutely desperate, no one is going to overspend for a 31-year-old defensive tackle with an injury history.
Who’s also dealing with an injury right now, as well.
So, where does that leave things? Well, plan on Vea playing for the Buccaneers in 2026 and it’s so easy to see why.
Common sense illustrates why Vita Vea will be playing for the Buccaneers
It’s not a matter of “if”, but “when”.
This whole thing is about money. Vea wants to get paid more. Well, if he doesn’t play, he starts losing money. The Buccaneers aren’t going into his bank account and pulling cash out. But he’s going to start losing game checks. Vea is due $18 million in cash this year. Players get paid over all 18 weeks, including the bye week. That means Vea stands to lose $1 million every single week before taxes. If you want to get paid more, why are you going to lose out on making money in general? It doesn’t make any sense whatsoever.
On top of that, if Vea holds out past the 10-game mark, he doesn’t earn an accrued season, which affects things like base salary. Vea is entering his ninth season, so he’s in that threshold where veteran minimum base salaries all kind of lump together and stay the same. But that still matters.
Here is the final nail in the coffin: if Vea sits out the entire season, his contract rolls over into next year. If he sits out long enough, the Buccaneers could get frustrated and go ahead and toll or freeze his contract to where it rolls over into 2027.
Think about it. If he’s sitting out, they’re not paying him, so the contract is not in play. If they freeze it, all that money that was supposed to be getting paid is not being paid, and the future money isn’t getting paid either. He’d wake up right back in the same spot, under contract with Tampa Bay for one year and $18 million, with nothing he can do about it.
It’s Groundhog Day, basically.
The math maths and unfortunately, it’s not in Vea’s favor. He’ll be on the field at some point in 2026. Take it to the bank.
