Why's Baker Mayfield Suing His Own Father For $12 Million?

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Mike Fisher | Last updated Nov 25, 2024 6:48 PM ET

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield is suing his own father for $12 million after the James Mayfield firm allegedly failed to live up to the terms of a confidential agreement.

Mayfield, 29, and his wife, Emily, are listed as plaintiffs in the lawsuit, which according to multiple reports has his father in charge of Camwood Capital Group (CCG), an investment firm that also involves Baker's brother, Matt. the brother is also named among several defendants in the lawsuit.

That complaint, filed last week in Federal court in the Western District of Texas, accuses CCG and other related companies of secretly using the plaintiffs' funds to pay for certain expected budget obligations, such as payroll.

According to the filing, from approximately 2018 until 2021, "Defendants ... transferred more than $12 million from Plaintiffs to themselves without authorization, proper documentation, or adequate accounting of the transactions.''

Baker Mayfield, who signed a three year, $100-million contract with the Buccaneers in March of 2024, was apparently "the primary source of funding and capitalization for Defendants. In exchange, Plaintiffs received nothing.'

The alleged fraud was ultimately discovered, but according to Baker's filing, his father and brother and the other defendants have remained deceptive in trying to explain the situation.

Per the suit: "Once Plaintiffs began to uncover Defendants' misconduct and sought answers to explain the taking of their assets, Defendants attempted to obscure the relevant information, avoided Plaintiffs' inquiries, and invented fictional explanations for their actions. None of those efforts could alter the reality that Defendants took money from Plaintiffs with no plan or ability to repay it.''

Baker Mayfield, the former Heisman Trophy winner, is a Bucs team leader now after having been originally taken with the first pick of the 2018 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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