The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are opening a significant amount of cap room through restructures. The team has already restructured the deals of safety Antoine Winfield Jr. and Tristan Wirfs. Now, they’re going to get some more money from their star quarterback’s contract.
The Buccaneers signed Baker Mayfield to an extension in 2024 for three years that’s worth up to $110 million, and now, they’re converting a lot of that to a bonus to save some money on the salary cap. NFL reporter Aaron Wilson reported Thursday that Mayfield’s $30 million base salary was reverted to a roster bonus, guaranteeing that money and shaving down that base salary $2 million. The team also added an extra void year in 2029 — all-in-all, Mayfield’s cap hit goes down to $23.875, per Wilson, opening up about $14 million in cap space.
The move comes after the Bucs freed up cap space from Winfield Jr.’s contract earlier this week. That move opened up $15.86 million in cap space, and Wirfs’ opened up $19.86 million. This salary cap is spread over multiple years to create relief, so it doesn’t all count for this year. At the moment, Over the Cap has the Buccaneers sitting at $16,540,629 dollars in cap space. As a result, these moves are likely not for any particular signing, but just to ease the burden for the future.
And, as always, Mayfield doesn’t lose any money from a restructure like this. The money Mayfield was set to get on his base salary was converted to a roster bonus, so he’ll just be getting it sooner — a move that will only help both parties. Mayfield is ready for his second season under his new contract and his third overall, and the Bucs have been hard at work in helping make his team competitive.