Buccaneers' Jason Licht sends strong message to Baker Mayfield about contract offer

In late July, Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield said that he felt "disrespected" and "undervalued" following negotiations he had with the club about a possible contract extension ahead of training camp. 

While speaking with reporters on Thursday, Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht insisted that he was "not going to get into specifics about the contract and all that stuff" regarding talks with Mayfield. According to the JoeBucsFan website, Licht sang somewhat of a different tune during a subsequent appearance on Tampa Bay sports radio station WDAE.

Buccaneers "made strong offer" to Baker Mayfield this summer?

"We do not expect every player or every agent to be on the same plane and agree with offers and things like that," Licht explained. "But we felt on our end it was a strong offer that represented a franchise quarterback. We do feel that [Mayfield] is a franchise quarterback."

According to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler (h/t Jenna Laine), the Buccaneers offered Mayfield "a two-year deal worth slightly above $100M in total." Mayfield reportedly "felt the structure of the contract was not suitable, mainly the guaranteed money," and he also "was adamant about wanting a longer commitment than two years." 

During Thursday's news conference, Licht said that the Buccaneers "could plan" to retain Mayfield's rights for 2027 via the franchise tag. 

"It's an option," Licht added about tagging Mayfield. "It's not necessarily something you want to plan on doing, but you have to in this business – you have to plan on things." 

Buccaneers confident they can "work out" a deal with Baker Mayfield?

"These things over time tend to work out," Licht added about the Mayfield situation during the WDAE appearance. "We’ll get to it when that time comes. But in the meantime, our feelings for him haven’t changed. I mean, he’s meant a lot to us. He’s entitled to his feelings. I respect that. But I can honestly say we’ve always tried to deal with players professionally and honestly and in good faith, and we’ll continue to do that in this case."

Licht also said that "there’s mutual respect between the team and Baker." That's all well and good, but it also sounds like Licht may not be in a rush to match Mayfield's asking price for an extension before Tampa Bay opens the preseason with a matchup at the New York Jets on Aug. 14.