Baker Mayfield and Buccaneers GM Jason Licht are all smiles after his contract extension

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Baker Mayfield shared a few laughs with general manager Jason Licht now that his contract issue has been resolved.

He even fielded the final question at his news conference from a teammate.

“Hey Baker, the offensive line is wondering what are you going to get us for Christmas?” All-Pro left tackle Tristan Wirfs shouted from the back.

Now that Mayfield has signed the richest contract in the history of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he’s expected to pick up a few more tabs and give out the best presents. Expectations for his performance are even higher.

The Bucs gave Mayfield a $165 million, three-year extension that runs through 2029. He’s come a long way since the team signed him to a $4 million, one-year deal to compete with Kyle Trask after Tom Brady retired in 2023.

“Baker (is) an important piece of this football team, obviously, not just how he plays, but who he is as a person,” Licht said Wednesday. “His wife, Emily, what they do in the community, the whole thing is just outstanding. The players here feed off of his energy, toughness, his style of play, his leadership, but the building feeds off of it too, and so does the city and the fan base. So, 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; we 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 for as long as we can.”

Mayfield had set a deadline for getting a new contract by the start of training camp , and felt “disrespected” when he didn’t get it. He doesn’t have to think about it anymore.

“It’s not going to be looming over everybody questioning it day in and day out throughout the weeks,” Mayfield said. “For me, it doesn’t change. We didn’t make the playoffs last year. I think everybody that was here has a bad taste in their mouth and they’re ready to right the ship on that. You know, we believe that we have a really, really good team. We’ve got to take it one week at a time, but this team is hungry, and that’s what I’m most excited about.”

Mayfield led the Buccaneers to an NFC South title and a playoff win in 2023. He followed that up with his best season in 2024, throwing for 4,500 yards and 41 TDs with a 71.4% completion rate and a passer rating of 106.8. He was an MVP candidate over the first half last season when the Bucs started 6-2 but tailed off due to an assortment of injuries and inconsistency. Tampa Bay finished 8-9, ending a streak of five straight playoff appearances and four division crowns.

“When it comes to just being able to finish the season the right way, we’ve had hot starts and lulls in the middle of the year, (so) being able to put it all together and be consistent,” Mayfield said. “That’s not just for me, but for our team. As the leader, I have to do that and I have to demand that of myself every day before I can demand it of my teammates. So, just trying to raise that standard no matter if it’s going (well) or (poorly) every single day and go from there and just be more consistent. We started out winning a lot of close ball games, two-minute (drills), last year early on, but didn’t make those plays toward the end of the year that we needed to. That goes with consistency.”

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