Getty Baker Mayfield wants market value in free agency.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield staying with the team will require a hefty price tag.
ESPN’s Jeff Darlington hinted at what that could look like, saying on ESPN’s “Get Up” on February 20 that Mayfield “wants to get market value.”
Mayfield played on a one-year, $4 million contract with the Buccaneers in 2023, and he produced a career year with 4,044 yards passing for 28 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.
“What is that market value? That is what general manager Jason Licht has to navigate,” Darlington said.
Spotrac projects Mayfield’s current value at $27.1 million annually, or the equivalent of a four-year, $108.5 million deal.
CBS Sports insider Jonathan Jones reported on February 17, “according to league sources,” that Mayfield could want “a tick above Geno Smith’s three-year, $75 million deal with Seattle last year” since Mayfield rebounded similarly to Smith this past season.
As Jones added, the Buccaneers could franchise tag Mayfield if a deal isn’t reached, but that would cost “more than $35 million” for 2024. The Buccaneers have until March 5 to address that amid competing needs with free agency ahead.
This isn’t the first time that Mayfield’s financial aspirations have come to light.
SiriusXM NFL Radio co-host Amber Theoharis said she had a conversation with Mayfield at the 2024 Pro Bowl, and noted that she’s “confident Mayfield is eager to find his true market value in free agency,” as JoeBucsFan.com wrote on February 3.
Baker Mayfield: ‘I’m Not Going to Just Go Chase a Check’
𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭: A “reasonable starting point” on a contract extension for QB Baker Mayfield would be in the 3-year $75M range, per @jjones9
Despite reports of Mayfield desiring a market value payday, he has emphasized a fit and winning versus the check.
“It’s got to be the best opportunity,” Mayfield told ESPN’s Sarah Barshop on January 8. “I’m not going to just go chase a check to go start and play.”
“After seeing a place that makes me have fun playing football again, it’s going to be hard to try something else new,” he added, “but obviously it’s going to be a big-time decision.”
Mayfield bounced around the NFL in 2022 when the Cleveland Browns traded him to the Carolina Panthers, before being cut in December 2022. He ended the season with the Los Angeles Rams before joining the Buccaneers in 2023.
A former No. 1 pick by the Browns in 2018, Mayfield led the team to the playoffs once, and he earned an $18.8 million fifth-year option with the team in 2021. However, the Browns traded for Deshaun Watson the following year and sent Mayfield to Carolina.
Mayfield had a four-year $32.6 million deal with the Browns as a rookie where he earned most of that, $22.3 million, in 2018.
Ronde Barber Reveals ‘Gut Feeling’ on Baker Mayfield, 2 Other Players
“My gut feeling….was that they would all be back”
#Bucs Hall of Famer @rondebarber on @JayAndZWDAE with @jayRecher & @ZacOnTheMic discussing the futures of Lavonte David, Baker Mayfield & Mike Evans in #TampaBay
Hall of Fame safety Ronde Barber, who has stayed connected with the Buccaneers since his playing days, believes Mayfield will return along with two other key players. Barber said on WDAE during Tuesday’s broadcast believes Mayfield, linebacker Lavonte David and wide receiver Mike Evans will all re-sign.
“My gut feeling, at the end of the season, was that they would all be back,” Barber said.
For Mayfield, the Evans re-signing is particularly critical amid 79 catches for 1,255 yards and 13 touchdowns last season. Mayfield told reporters right after the season ended that he wants Evans back.