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By Megan Armstrong
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Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield is heading into a contract year, and he's pretty annoyed about it.
"I wanted a deal done and set the deadline and them it was gonna be all ball after that, and I did mean that," Mayfield told reporters at Bucs training camp on Thursday, July 30. "I don't know if they thought I was just going to take some of the offers that they gave."
Mayfield emphasized that he's "very, very thankful for the chance that they gave me," but he recognizes what he's brought to the Buccaneers as a leader and a player, so it was "disappointing [...] to be disrespected a little bit."
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"That's really the disappointing part," Mayfield said. "To feel undervalued after thinking you've earned it. This is not a 'poor me' thing. There's a lot of other people that have it way worse off. But I can sit here and look at other quarterbacks and peers and evaluate myself based on that and put myself in certain categories, [and] I deserve to be compensated for that.
"I think I'm a franchise quarterback. I've been told I'm a franchise quarterback. It's been said from ownership down here, and so to not have a deal done is very disappointing. But I said the deadline is the deadline."
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The day prior, ESPN's Jeremy Fowler and Jenna Laine reported that Mayfield would report to training camp without a contract extension and "will play out the final year of his contract before becoming a free agent."
At his Thursday press conference, Mayfield sent a warning shot to Bucs brass: "If you've waited this long to take care of your franchise quarterback, that's too bad because it's only going to get worse from here. I'm going to have a really big year."
Mayfield, the No. 1 overall pick of the Cleveland Browns in 2018, was an NFL journeyman after his tenure in Cleveland ended in 2021 — failing to stick with the Carolina Panthers and Los Angeles Rams. The former Heisman winner landed in Tampa in 2023 and has revitalized his career.
Mayfield eclipsed 4,000 passing yards in the 2023 and 2024 regular-seasons, including a career year with 4,500 yards and 41 touchdowns in 2024, before an up-and-down 2025 campaign.
Mayfield revealed in Netflix's "Quarterback" that he played through several injuries for much of last season. And while the Buccaneers started hot at 6-2, the entire team struggled immensely down the stretch to a 8-9 record. So, Mayfield won't be the only one in the locker room with a sizable chip on his shoulder when the Buccaneers open their 2026 regular season against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sept. 13.
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