Getty Image / Kevin Sabitus
For all intents and purposes, Baker Mayfield’s career as an incumbent starter and franchise quarterback seemed over just one season ago in 2022. After being benched in Carolina and then released, it seemed like he would go down as a draft bust.
Instead, Baker Mayfield had an incredible bounce-back season last year in Tampa Bay. Now, he’s been rewarded with a fantastic contract extension with the Buccaneers that will once again make him one of the NFL’s highest-paid players.
Baker Mayfield was set to be able to start negotiating with other teams on Monday before the window to send deals to the league office in free agency opens on Wednesday. The Bucs made sure that he never reached that window.
The Bucs have signed Baker Mayfield for 3 years on a deal worth $100 million, with $50 million guaranteed, per source. Tampa keeps their QB.
— Dianna Russini (@DMRussini) March 10, 2024
Now, after being left for dead by many of the league’s pundits, he’s the league’s fifteenth-highest paid player!
Baker Mayfield’s deal averages $33.3M/year. That APY ranks 15th in the NFL behind
Burrow $55M
Herbert $52.5M
Lamar $52M
Hurts $51M
Kyler $46.1M
Watson $46M
Mahomes $45M
Allen $43M
Jones $40M
Dak $40M
Stafford $40M
Carr $37.5M
Rodgers $37.5M
Goff $33.5M*Not counting Cousins
— Steven Cheah (@StevenCheah) March 10, 2024
Not bad for a guy that was picked up off the scrap heap by the Rams at the end of the 2022 season to play in meaningful games.
That being said, Baker has always had this level in him. He showed that in 2023, throwing for just over 4,000 yards and 28 touchdowns against just 10 interceptions. The Buccaneers were projected to be one of the worst teams in the league. Instead, Mayfield nearly got them to the NFC Championship Game.
If you’re a Browns fan, this really has to sting. Baker Mayfield was supposed to be the savior of the Browns’ franchise. It looked like he would be when he took Cleveland to the playoffs in his third season. But, things went sour in 2021, and they decided to bet on Deshaun Watson instead. That looks like an epic disaster, as his $230 million, fully guaranteed contract is essentially a sunk cost right now.
Meanwhile, Baker Mayfield kept believing in himself, and now he’s got the payoff.