BATTLE FOR HEARTS AND MINDS:
Mayfield went out of his way to suggest the Bucs were shady as a business model. (Ouch).
Bucs "fired back" yesterday with an off the record/background suggestion that Mayfield misled people in his press conference about where the team was.
Bucs version --
"When asked about being among the top 10 or in the $50+-million-per-year club, Mayfield told Fowler he "needed to be put in that category" and the Bucs were "pretty far" from it. He added that he never sought to reset the market and was realistic. He also said that he never considered a holdout or a hold-in.
The Buccaneers felt their offers in the final days of the negotiation were competitive, including a two-year deal worth slightly above $100 million in total, sources told Fowler."
Not sure any of it matters, especially without the details (guarantees, for example), but this is the kind if stuff that gets negotiating parties sideways, especial the part (reported by ESPN) that a source close to Mayfield thought he never got over the initial offer.
"Mayfield was long dismayed by the team’s low initial offer in June, to the point that one source close to him wondered whether that fueled his direct tone in his press conferences weeks later."