Sources: Buccaneers and Baker Mayfield agree to 3-year, $100M deal

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and quarterback Baker Mayfield have agreed to a three-year deal for $100 million total and $50 million guaranteed, sources told ESPN on Sunday.

Mayfield is scheduled to make $30 million guaranteed in 2024, $30 million (with $20 million guaranteed) in 2025 and $40 million in 2026, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. There are incentives of $5 million per year, bringing the maximum contract value to $115 million.

Mayfield confirmed the deal in a statement to Schefter.

“I wanted a chance to come back,” Mayfield said. “I love the coach [Todd] Bulls and staff. “I’m happy to be here and I want to win more in the postseason.”

Mayfield signed with the Buccaneers to a one-year, $4 million deal in March 2023, tasking him with the massive task of replacing seven-time Super Bowl winner Tom Brady.

Mayfield led the Bucs to impressive road wins at the Minnesota Vikings in Week 1 and at the New Orleans Saints in Week 4. But it's what he was able to do late in the season — leading the Bucs to wins in five of their last six games — that dramatically changed his team's fortunes and revived his career.

First there was the 29-25 victory at the Atlanta Falcons in Week 14 in which Mayfield connected with tight end Cade Otton for an 11-yard touchdown with 36 seconds left. Then in Week 15, Mayfield became the first opposing quarterback in NFL history to record a perfect 158.3 passer rating at Lambeau Field as the Bucs defeated the Green Bay Packers 34-20. In that game, he threw for 381 yards and four touchdowns. He followed that up with a two-touchdown performance in a 30-12 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 16.

Mayfield's 28 touchdowns during the regular season ranked seventh in the league and were a career best for him. His 2.8 touchdown interception percentage is tied with San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy for ninth in the league. His 4,044 passing yards also rank ninth-most in a single season in Mayfield's career. He also posted a career-best completion percentage of 64.3.

In the wild-card round of the playoffs, Mayfield threw for 337 yards and three touchdowns in a 32-9 defeat of the Philadelphia Eagles. The following week in the divisional round, Mayfield threw for 349 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions in a 31-23 loss at the Detroit Lions. Mayfield's passer rating of 106.3 in those two playoff games was the highest of any Buccaneers quarterback in postseason history. His 3.0 postseason interception and touchdown percentage also matched Brady's during his Buccaneers tenure.

The first overall pick in 2018, Mayfield led the Cleveland Browns to their first playoff win in 26 years following the 2020 season. But he was traded to the Carolina Panthers in July 2022, after the Browns acquired Deshaun Watson. The Panthers waived Mayfield after he went 1-5 as a starter in 2022, spending five games with the Los Angeles Rams.

Mayfield's agent, Tom Mills, said in a statement to ESPN's Jenna Lynn that after the Panthers waived his client, “he never complained and always believed in himself. This contract is a result of that attitude, as well as his ability. I'm grateful to the Buccaneers for giving him the opportunity to continue his career.”

In addition to his field efforts this season, Mayfield and his wife, Emily, created the Baker and Emily Mayfield Foundation in Tampa to “level the playing field” for underserved children and families, with events supporting the Early Learning Alliance of Hillsborough County and the Boys & Girls Club of Tampa Bay.

Mayfield, 28, has passed for 20,322 yards with 130 touchdowns and 74 interceptions in his career.

ESPN's Jeremy Fowler contributed to this report.