Getty Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive tackle Tristan Wirfs.
Some players are so good they can change how the NFL works — specifically how teams pay their very best players.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive tackle Tristan Wirfs is one of those types of players.
The 33rd Team’s Ari Meirov projects that the Buccaneers will deliver Wirfs a 5-year, $127.5 million contract extension with $72 million guaranteed instead of letting him play out his current contract.
Wirfs is scheduled to make $18.244 million in 2024 after the Buccaneers picked up the fifth-year extension on his rookie contract in April 2023 but has yet to land the mega-contract he’s been seeking.
“The offensive line market has exploded in recent years,” Meirov wrote. “He already has three Pro Bowls under his belt, including in 2023, after switching from right to left tackle. Instead of playing this out onto the franchise tag, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers should just get their 25-year-old star blocker under contract for as long as possible.
“Consistently graded as a top blocker and known for his nasty demeanor as a finisher, Wirfs is the exact type of talent that teams hope to land in the draft. His new deal should climb to the top spot of the tackle market.”
Wirfs Goes From Big Ten to NFL Superstar
Wirfs became the first true freshman to start at offensive tackle during the Kirk Ferentz era at the University of Iowa and left school with one year of eligibility remaining after he was named the Big 12 Offensive Lineman of the Year and an All-American in 2019.
After being selected No. 13 overall in the 2020 NFL draft by the Buccaneers, Wirfs became a plug-and-play starter and helped lead Tampa Bay to a Super Bowl as a rookie. Since then, he’s earned three consecutive Pro Bowl nods and was a two-time NFL All-Pro in 2021 and 2022 — in 2021 at right offensive tackle and in 2022 at left offensive tackle.
Despite not being named All-Pro in 2023, Wirfs may have had his best season while playing 100 percent of Tampa Bay’s snaps he was called for zero holding penalties for the first time in his career and graded out at 81.1 percent overall, according to PFF.
Checking the Market for Elite Offensive Tackles
While Meirov’s projected contract would make Wirfs rich beyond his wildest dreams, it wouldn’t set any records for offensive tackles in terms of value.
As far as overall value of a contract, it would still trail San Francisco 49ers left tackle Trent Williams, who signed a 6-year, $138 million contract in March 2021.
In terms of guaranteed money and average salary, it would still trail Detroit Lions right tackle Penei Sewell, who signed a 4-year, $112 million contract extension in April 2021 that included $85 million in guaranteed money and will pay him $28 million per season.
Wirfs’ proposed contract would pay him $25.5 million per year, putting him at No. 2 in the NFL for his position and just ahead of Houston Texans offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil at $25 million per year.
Wirfs holds a unique place in franchise history — he’s the only offensive lineman to earn NFL All-Pro honors while playing for the Buccaneers since they opened NFL play as an expansion team in 1976.