Baker Mayfield enjoyed the best season of his career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2024. He completed a career-high 71.4% of his passes for 4,500 yards, 41 touchdowns, 16 interceptions and a 106.8 passer rating while leading the Buccaneers to a fifth consecutive playoff appearance.
Tampa Bay is rewarding the 30-year-old signal caller handsomely for his strong performance.
The Buccaneers are guaranteeing $30 million of the salary owed to Mayfield for the 2026 NFL season, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports. Previously, none of the $40 million salary owed to Mayfield in 2025 was guaranteed.
How does that restructuring change Mayfield’s contract? Here’s what to know about the terms of his deal with the Buccaneers.
Baker Mayfield contract details
Mayfield inked a three-year, $100 million contract with the Buccaneers ahead of 2024 NFL free agency. The basic structure of that deal – including its term, total value and average annual value (AAV) – will remain unchanged.
However, Mayfield will receive an additional $30 million in guarantees as part of his restructured deal with the Buccaneers. Originally, only $40 million of his deal was fully guaranteed; an additional $10 million became guaranteed on March 16, 2025 as part of a roster bonus.
Below is a complete look at Mayfield’s contract in the wake of his recent restructure:
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Term: 3 years
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Total value: $100 million
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Average annual value (AAV): $33.3 million
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Guaranteed money: $80 million
Guaranteeing an extra $30 million to Mayfield won’t necessarily make him any more expensive overall for the Buccaneers. It would simply make it more costly for Tampa Bay to release him following the 2025 NFL season, which is unlikely to happen given his strong first two seasons as a Buccaneer.
Providing Mayfield with additional guarantees is a smart strategy for the Buccaneers, as it can help foster goodwill with the quarterback ahead of his next potential contract extension.
Mayfield’s contract will still expire following the 2026 NFL season. That said, the 30-year-old quarterback has three void years on his deal. As such, he will continue to count against Tampa Bay’s salary cap through the 2029 campaign even if he doesn’t remain with the team beyond 2026.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Baker Mayfield contract: Impacts of restructured deal with Buccaneers
