After a rough couple of years, Baker Mayfield’s NFL life was floundering in 2023. Then, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers threw him a life preserver in the form of a one-year “prove-it” deal to compete as Tom Brady’s successor that summer. He won the job and responded with his first Pro Bowl season, a division title, and a playoff win. Tampa Bay really revived Mayfield’s NFL life, so he has been giving back ever since he arrived in Florida.
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While he was competing for that starting job in 2023, Mayfield and his wife, Emily, launched the Baker & Emily Foundation. Their mission is to, “provide programs, scholarships, and philanthropic opportunities to help others tackle life’s challenges in order to be the best version of themselves.”
The couple’s latest philanthropic endeavor is a $25,000 sponsorship of Bike with Mike, a mental health fundraiser. The event was founded in honor of Mike Kutilek, an avid biker from Nebraska who battled mental illnesses, eventually passing away in 2020. Emily grew up in Nebraska and was friends with Mike, so this one hits especially close to home for her.
“So, so honored to be sponsoring such an important cause in my hometown of Omaha, NE. – in honor of my friend, Mike Kutilek! Please consider donating to mental health awareness and celebrate Mike’s legacy!” she wrote (via Instagram story).
Emily (Wilkinson) Mayfield, wife of Tampa Bay QB Baker Mayfield, introduces a new sponsor that will benefit from her and her hubby’s foundation. pic.twitter.com/ZjJg7e3dbS
— Depressed Eagles Fan (@nfl_rocky) March 1, 2025
Since 2021, Mike’s family has held Bike with Mike every year to raise funds for Community Alliance, a local mental health organization.
Nebraska is a state that is in specific need of more mental health support and awareness, as 88 of their 93 counties are viewed as “mental health professional shortage areas”. You can donate to Bike with Mike here.
This is far from the first initiative Baker Mayfield and his wife have participated in since they joined the Buccaneers in 2023. Just three weeks after launching the Baker & Emily Mayfield Foundation on August 3 of the same year, they held their first event. It took place at Topgolf in Tampa with the goal of raising money to benefit early childhood literacy.
Since then, they have lent their support to many organizations and events in the Tampa Bay community. They have also held the “Passing the Joy” Christmas celebration for the last two years, donating just under $18k to a local high school so they could upgrade their football equipment.
Other organizations they sponsor or support include the Early Learning Coalition of Hillsborough, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Tampa Bay, and BabyCycle Diaper Bank.
Mayfield signed a three-year, $100 million deal to remain in Tampa Bay ahead of the 2024 season. He and Emily are clearly putting down roots in the Gulf Coast city. Not only have they launched their foundation to give back to the community, but they’ve also added to their own family—welcoming their first child, a daughter named Kova Jade, in April 2024.
