Baker Mayfield on contract talks: "It's a matter of finding that middle ground"

The clock keeps ticking for Baker Mayfield and the Buccaneers to get a new deal done before Mayfield’s stated deadline of the start of training camp.

At his football camp in Oklahoma on Saturday, the topic of his contract came up during a session with reporters.

“I would love to be there,” Mayfield said, via a video posted on the SoonerScoop YouTube channel. “I think both sides want to get it done. Now it’s a matter of finding that middle ground and what makes both sides happy. . . .

“We fell in love with Tampa, and it’s a great place to raise kids and be around. So regardless of what happens, I think we’ll spend our offseasons there. Obviously, it’s a little brutally hot, but it’s good for training, but it’s — yeah, I want to be there long term. They treated me right, and it’s the first place I’ve gotten to that feels like Oklahoma when it comes down to football is football, how can they put you in the best position to have success on the field, and how can they give their resources to help you out? And so, it’s a great place.”

Two takeaways. One, the key question (as it usually is) regarding the negotiation is whether the two sides will move far enough from their positions to meet somewhere in the middle. That depends on where they are, and how much room they have to move.

Mayfield is entering the last season of a three-year, $100 million deal. Absent an extension (and a willingness by the Buccaneers to apply a franchise tag that would cost nearly $48 million in 2027), he’ll be an unrestricted free agent in March.

Second, by deciding to spend his offseasons in Tampa, he has entertained the possibility of spending his football seasons elsewhere.

That could be the key to getting the negotiations to a middle ground that Mayfield likes. Sometimes, a team will use a player’s apparent desire to stay put against him, by offering less than market value. To get fair value, Mayfield has to both know what his market is — and be willing to leave in order to get more than what the Buccaneers are willing to pay.