Buccaneers GM addresses possibly signing Baker Mayfield to contract extension

Quarterback Baker Mayfield is quite the bargain for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers while playing on the three-year, $100M contract he signed to stay with the organization back in March 2024. 

During a recent chat with Jeff Howe of The Athletic, Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht suggested it's a matter of when and not if Mayfield will receive another multi-year deal from the club. 

"I love Baker. I love everything he’s done for us," Licht said. "The goal for us is for Baker to continue to be the player that he is, and at some point, we reach an extension when the time is right and he continues to be our quarterback for a long time. That’s the goal."

Mayfield's Tampa Bay tenure has been a roller-coaster ride of ups and downs since he joined the franchise in March 2023. He has yet to miss a regular-season start, and the StatMuse website shows that no quarterback has thrown more touchdown passes since Week 1 of the 2023 campaign (69). 

That said, he also committed the most total turnovers among quarterbacks (31) over the past two seasons. Additionally, the fumble he lost deep in his own territory following a botched exchange helped the Washington Commanders earn a come-from-behind win over Tampa Bay in the wild-card round of the playoffs this past January. 

Nevertheless, Licht seems ready to anoint Mayfield as the club's long-term answer at the position. 

"We’re all ecstatic he’s our quarterback," Licht added about the 30-year-old. "It’s an amazing story. What he’s been through with his career and his personal life, to come out of it the way he is, the future is bright for him."

Earlier this month, ESPN's Jeremy Fowler revealed that league executives, coaches and scouts surveyed by the network ranked Mayfield as the NFL's 10th-best quarterback heading into the upcoming season. That's all well and good, but Mayfield told Howe he won't be "satisfied" until he achieves the biggest team goal. 

"I’m trying to win a Super Bowl," Mayfield said. "You try to set your goals inside our own building, what our standard is. It’s not to just try to win our division, squeak by, barely make the playoffs and only play a game or two. We’re trying to win the whole thing. That’s the team we have. I think we can win it all."

As of Friday afternoon, DraftKings Sportsbook had the Buccaneers tied for 11th (with three other teams) among the betting favorites at +2800 odds to win Super Bowl LX this coming February. If Mayfield can avoid making certain mental mistakes during games, he could guide Tampa Bay to its desired destination.