Buccaneers sign 1st round pick to 4-year contract

Two weeks after becoming arguably the most surprising first-round pick, Emeka Egbuka officially put pen to paper. As the No. 19 overall pick to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the 2025 NFL Draft, the rookie receiver signed his first contract with the team.

Egbuka signed a four-year $18.1 million deal, Adam Schefter reported. Egbuka became the ninth first-rounder to sign his deal, following Tyler Booker, Ashton Jeanty, Tetairoa McMillan, Colston Loveland, Kenneth Grant, Tyler Warren, Armand Membou and Josh Simmons.

By officially signing with the team, Egbuka becomes Tampa Bay’s latest young wideout project. He will immediately compete with 2024 third-round pick Jalen McMillan for the starting role alongside veterans Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. With 12 starts in 2024 and a strong end to his rookie season, McMillan has the inside track that Egbuka will have to fight.

The Buccaneers’ drafting Egbuka was less about him competing with McMillan and had more to do with their intent to have him succeed Evans and Godwin. Despite being the team’s stars for nearly a decade together, Evans, 31, and Godwin, 29, are quickly aging out of their primes. Godwin is also coming off a brutal leg injury that held him to just seven games in 2024.

As somewhat of a shock at No. 19, Egbuka is coming off a 1,011-yard season with Ohio State in 2024 but has just 1,526 receiving yards in the last two years. However, before injuries limited him as a junior, Egbuka posted a career-high 1,151 receiving yards in 2022. He spent most of his career playing behind the elite talents of Jeremiah Smith, Jaxson Smith-Njigba and Marvin Harrison Jr., causing many to believe his talent exceeds his numbers.

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