Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: USA Today Winning the starting job out of training camp and guiding Tampa Bay to the playoffs helped in a big way for Mayfield, giving him an extra $2 million. Plus, the 28-year-old signal-caller has a chance to earn even more bonuses depending on other outcomes throughout the NFL in Week 18. He has money tied to where he finishes among NFL quarterbacks in terms of passer rating, touchdown passes, passing yards, completion percentage and yards per passing attempt. Mayfield also gets $250,000 for each Bucs playoff win. So if he and Tampa Bay can make some noise in the postseason, it’ll only run his earnings up even more. One thing is for sure, though, and that’s the fact that Baker Mayfield has set himself up for a much bigger contract than the one he played on this year. Whether that’s with the Bucs or elsewhere, he has at least proven that he’s still a starting-caliber quarterback in the league who is capable of taking a team to the playoffs. His next contract will surely reflect as much. Bucs-Baker Mayfield Partnership Has Worked Out Beautifully For Both Sides The Bucs got Baker Mayfield on a bargain last offseason. The 2018 No. 1 overall pick signed a one-year deal worth $4 million guaranteed — and up to $8.5 million with incentives — to compete for the right to replace Tom Brady under center for Tampa Bay. It was a deal that made sense for both sides. Mayfield bounced from Cleveland to Carolina to Los Angeles during the 2022 calendar year, so he needed an opportunity to reestablish himself as a starting quarterback in the NFL. The prove-it deal gave Mayfield a chance to revive his career much like Geno Smith did in Seattle last year. 
Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: USA Today For the Bucs, they needed a quarterback who fit within their cap constraints. They decided to eat Brady’s full $35.1 million cap hit in 2023 to set up more flexibility in future seasons, but it meant less room to work with for this year. Enter Mayfield, who was the perfect storm of a cheap option who had playoff experience. In other words, the team didn’t have to shell out big money and still knew that if things went their way, they’d be able to still compete in 2023 while paying off a lot of that Super Bowl LV credit card. And yes, things have gone their way. The partnership between the Bucs and Baker Mayfield has been perfect in terms of team chemistry and culture, as well as results on the field. It has to be especially satisfying for general manager Jason Licht and his staff to see what Tampa Bay accomplished compared to what unfolded elsewhere in the division with the other three teams and their new quarterbacks. The Falcons gave Taylor Heinicke $6.32 million guaranteed last offseason. The Saints signed Derek Carr to a deal that had $60 million guaranteed at signing and has another $10 million guaranteed in March. Not to mention, there was the haul that the Panthers gave up for the No. 1 overall pick last spring, parting ways with 2023 first- and second-round picks, their 2024 first-round pick, a 2025 second-round pick and wide receiver D.J. Moore to draft Bryce Young. Heinicke backed up Desmond Ridder for most of the year as the Falcons went 7-10 and finished in third place. Meanwhile, there were only a few points in the season when Carr wasn’t banged up and while his numbers looked good and the Saints finished 9-8, they finished in second place and are unlikely to make the playoffs. Carolina finished 2-15, and the No. 1 overall pick that came with that goes to Chicago as a result of last year’s trade. The Bucs’ quarterback addition worked out the best of the four this year, as they went on to win the division. Mayfield finished the regular season having completed 64.3% of his passes for 4,044 yards and 28 touchdowns. Those were all career highs, and he threw just 10 interceptions. Given the Bucs’ poor history with quarterbacks, it was undoubtedly one of the better statistical seasons by a quarterback in franchise history. The post Baker Mayfield Earns Another $1 Million Bonus appeared first on Pewter Report. Source: https://www.pewterreport.com/baker-mayf ... ion-bonus/
