The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have gotten some very good things from their 2023 draft class. Now, three of them could be set to get a very nice raise in 2026 without having to lift a finger.

Second round pick Cody Mauch, third-round pick Yaya Diaby, and fifth-round pick SirVocea Dennis are all currently within the parameters to receive a bump in their 2026 base salaries under the NFL’s Proven Performance Escalator incentives parameters.

Bucs trio set to get PPE bonuses in 2026

The program increases the fourth-year salaries for non-first round draft picks who hit certain performance incentives during their first three seasons in the league. The big one is making an original ballot Pro Bowl, which triggers the highest (third level bonus). A second-level bonus comes for any player who hits 55% or more in offensive/defensive snaps in all of his first three seasons.

The first level bonus comes from hitting certain snap percentages in at least two of three seasons OR averaging that snap percentage threshold across all three seasons. For second round picks, it’s 60+%. For third round picks and later, it’s 35+%.

According to Over The Cap, Mauch has already locked that up, as he played in 100% of the Bucs’ offensive snaps in 2023 and 99% in 2024, so he qualifies for the first level. Had he not gotten hurt, he would assuredly have reached level two. Diaby already locked his level one bump up in 2023 and 2024 based on snap percentages. Dennis was well below the 35% threshold the first two seasons, but his total percentage for all three seasons now sits at 38.4%. So as long as he doesn’t get injured and miss any games the rest of this season, he should reach the 35% threshold to earn a level one bump as well.

As level one PPE incentive recipients, their salaries would increase to the amount of a 2026 original draft round tender. While that hasn’t been announced yet, according to Over The Cap, the right of first refusal tender is estimated to be $3.453 million for 2026. In 2025, the original draft round tender was $3.406 million, per the NFL. The right of first refusal tender was $3.263. So, as the original draft round tender is a bit more, one could expect the 2026 amount to be in the ballpark of $3.7 million.

Mauch’s 2026 base salary is set to be $1.77 million, with Diaby ($1.495 million) and Dennis ($1.145 million) coming in below that. As such, we’re talking about a multimillion dollar jump in base salary for all three based on their performance on their rookie deals.

That’s a nice little chunk of change as a reward for their good play. And I expect Jason Licht will work to keep all three in Tampa Bay beyond 2026 as well.

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