With smiles on their faces, Bucs general manager Jason Licht and quarterback Baker Mayfield, the new $165-million man, sat together at a press conference on Wednesday and buried the proverbial hatchet. Over a month ago, Mayfield was miffed at the Tampa Bay organization for not getting a new contract extension in place prior to the start of training camp as he previously desired.

But even after Mayfield said he was going to focus on football and put off all contract talks until the 2027 offseason, the Bucs kept talking with his agent and eventually added a year – the 2029 season, albeit with no guarantees – to satisfy the QB’s desire to get a three-year extension totaling $165 million and averaging $55 million per year. That ties Mayfield with Green Bay’s Jordan Love, Jacksonville’s Trevor Lawrence and Sunday’s opponent, Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow, for the third-highest APY (average per year) salary.

“I guess I can say we’ve officially worked out our differences – we’re very excited about it,” Licht said with a laugh as Mayfield grinned. “Baker is an important piece of this football team, obviously. Not just as how he plays, but what he is as a person. He and his wife Emily and what they do in the community – the whole thing is just outstanding. The players here feed off his energy, toughness, his style of play and his leadership. The building feeds off it too, and so does the city and the fan base.

“It’s just an awesome thing – it’s a no-brainer to want to have him locked up for as long as we can. One of the things I love the most about Baker is you never have to question or wonder how he feels. I got an example of that last month. It’s that passion that he has that makes him tick and what he is as a player. We’re just so excited that he’s going to be here in the future.”

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield and wife Emily and kids Koko and Maverick – Photo by: Matt Matera/PR

Mayfield said he was caught off guard by the Bucs continuing contract talks last week – unbeknownst to him.

“When it comes to the deadline I told my agent, ‘Listen, I’m done talking about it unless something really changes, and you can bring that to my attention if you think I am actually willing to agree to it – then bring it to my attention,” Mayfield said. “Apparently, they engaged in talks last week that I didn’t know about it until Monday about 6:00 p.m.”

Mayfield was actually at the movies with Emily and his kids as well as a few of his teammates seeing the new Cars animated movie when he got the call from his agent.

“It was fun to step away from Lightning McQueen for a second to agree to that,” Mayfield said.

Despite New Deal, Bucs QB Baker Mayfield Not Satisfied, Still Chasing Super Bowl

Since airing out his grievances with the contract negotiation process at the end of July, Baker Mayfield has, as he and others continued to put it, been “all about football.” The leader of the offense and one of the leaders of the team as a whole couldn’t afford to let his contract situation overshadow the ultimate goal, and Mayfield knew that. If anything, there was some thought that those feelings of “being disrespected” could fuel the 31-year-old signal-caller throughout the 2026 season.

But now that he and his side of the negotiations struck a deal with the Bucs and answered what could’ve been a major question mark heading into next offseason, that extra source of motivation now shifts into something entirely different. Rather than going out and making his case for a new contract, Mayfield can go out and prove that he’s worth the contract he just signed.

Of course, he never needed that anyway. Mayfield is the ultimate competitor, and if there’s one thing his teammates can always trust him to do, it’s to bring some fire in everything he does. And with the dollars and cents all figured out ahead of the start of the 2026 season, every ounce of his focus, energy and fire is on one main goal, something he discussed Wednesday.

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo courtesy of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Asked whether becoming a $165 million man with his new contract has shortened his list of grievances, Mayfield quickly pointed toward that ultimate goal as the what really drives him. It’s the one massive achievement he’s yet to add to his resume.

“I haven’t updated that thing in a long time,” Mayfield said of his list of grievances. “There was a time and point where I used a lot of that negative stuff to fuel me, but found the fire within and go from there. I still have so much to prove. This isn’t ‘I’ve made it.’ This is life changing money, this is stuff that for us is unbelievable, but it’s an opportunity to help the community and to continue to progress and move forward. The main goal is still the Super Bowl, and I don’t have one of those.”

From here on out, it’s all about climbing to the mountaintop and winning a Super Bowl – the organization’s third and Mayfield’s first. The closest he and the Bucs have gotten during his tenure was in his first year wearing red and pewter. In 2023, he guided Tampa Bay to another NFC South title and a first-round playoff win over the Eagles, then had the team within a quarter of the NFC Championship Game.

The journey ended shy of the title game and a chance to play for the Lombardi Trophy then, and now it’s about getting back there and finishing the job. By giving him the largest contract in franchise history, the Bucs backed up their belief that Mayfield is the guy who can get them back to the top.

Now, it’s up to Mayfield to prove them right.

– Bailey Adams contributed to this story.