Chris Godwin and the Buccaneers have agreed to a long-term deal. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Buccaneers are signing their star receiver to a three-year, $60M deal. The contract includes $40M in guaranteed money at signing.
The Buccaneers had to slap the franchise tag on Godwin when the two sides couldn’t agree to an extension by the tag deadline, but there was always optimism that there would be agreement on a long-term deal. We’ve heard in recent weeks that the two sides were continuing to work towards a new contract.
The franchise tag’s value would have been $19.2M, so Godwin ended up passing that total with his AAV (while Tampa Bay got to clear up some much-needed space via the multiyear deal). If the contract looks familiar, it’s actually the exact same terms that Mike Williams got on his new deal with the Chargers.
A third rounder in 2017, Godwin has certainly outperformed his draft status during his time in Tampa Bay. His 2019 Pro Bowl season showcased his ability even without a quarterback the caliber of Tom Brady in the picture. His 2021 season with the future Hall of Famer (98 catches, 1,103 yards, five touchdowns) confirmed his talent level.
Brady is sticking around in 2022, and the Buccaneers offense looks as loaded as ever. Godwin and fellow top wideout Mike Evans will both be back, and Russell Gage was brought in to replace Antonio Brown on the depth chart. The team also re-signed veteran WR Breshad Perriman. \
We’ll still have to see whether Rob Gronkowski or any of the Buccaneers RBs return (Leonard Fournette, Ronald Jones, and Giovani Bernard are all FAs), but Brady’s main targets will be sticking around Tampa Bay for the foreseeable future.
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