Baker Mayfield sends clear message regarding his future with Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Baker Mayfield sends clear message regarding his future with Tampa Bay Buccaneers originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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Star quarterback Baker Mayfield has just one year remaining on his current contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. 

But, he hopes to achieve some long-term security with the franchise. 

Baker Mayfield expresses desire to remain in Tamp Bay long-term 

In his first public comments of the offseason, Mayfield made it clear that he would like to continue his career in Tampa Bay beyond 2026. But, he has a set a training camp deadline for offseason negotiations, meaning that if an extension is going to get done, it’s going to have to get done before late July. 

If not deal gets done though, Mayfield won’t be holding out or anything of that nature. 

“Obviously, yes, I would love to have a long-term deal done, but they know my deadline: As soon as training camp starts, we’re not doing any contract stuff. It’s all ball. It’s not up to me when that gets done by. So hopefully before that. If not — still going to have a good year,” Mayfield said. 

“We’d love to be here long-term. And as of right now, that’s not exactly the case, but I’m under contract for 2026,” Mayfield said. “And the guys in that locker and the staff know that I’m still going to be me. I’m still going to do everything I can to help this team win a Super Bowl. And to me, that’s the priority. Everything else will take care of itself.”

There’s still plenty of time for Mayfield and the Bucs to come to an agreement before the start of camp, but at this point the two sides remain pretty far apart, according to Mayfield. 

“I think first and foremost, regardless — we’ve built roots here in Tampa,” Mayfield said. “We love the community. We love to be here. They’ve embraced us, and we enjoy being here and obviously going to raise kids here. But yeah, contract stuff — it’s happening, it’s starting, the talks and whatnot, but not anywhere close to what we were thinking.”

Mayfield’s contract situation in Tampa Bay will be something to continue to monitor as we move closer to the start of training camp later this summer. 

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