Underpaid Baker Mayfield Trails Micah Parsons by $88 Million Despite Buccaneers’ 2-0 Start

In the past two years, only eight quarterbacks in the NFL have managed to finish inside the top 10 in passing yards and also win a playoff game. Six of them have a contract that is valued at north of $200 million. Who are the two not yet in the millionaire club?

There is C.J. Stroud. But then, once he comes off his rookie deal with the Houston Texans, he will join the six. The other star quarterback who isn’t receiving that kind of pay is Baker Mayfield.

The eight-year veteran, who has already proven his worth to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, continues to do so in 2025. In the first two weeks of this regular season, Mayfield has managed not one but two game-winning drives to give the franchise a 2-0 start to the year. However, there’s still no news of a contract extension.

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Some have credited his recent success to the Buccaneers’ offensive coordinators. Others have suggested that it’s easy to put up big numbers when Mayfield is throwing to guys like Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, and now, Emeka Egbuka.

In the end, though, Mayfield’s numbers have remained steady regardless of who has or has not been with the team. And now, he’s even beginning to close in on some of the Buccaneers’ all-time franchise records as well.

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With a total value of $100,000,000, Mayfield’s contract is just the 19th most valuable contract among all active quarterbacks. More glaringly, Micah Parsons’ recent $188M agreement with the Green Bay Packers is worth nearly double the amount of Mayfield’s current deal.

Mayfield’s potential free agency period isn’t too far off. Should Tampa Bay decide not to pay him the extra cash, the former Cleveland Brown will hit the open market in 2027. And given his recent form and the lack of desirable options that are currently out there, he’s liable to fetch himself a good contract.

Of course, that’s assuming that the Buccaneers aren’t grateful for his services, which they should be. Following the retirement of Tom Brady, the Bucs were presumably destined to drift back toward the bottom half of their divisional rankings.

Thanks to Mayfield, they’ve managed to win four consecutive NFC South titles and are well in position to win a fifth. Since joining the Buccaneers’ roster in 2023, the quarterback has yet to produce a losing regular-season record. He has ensured that the organization is routinely in the hunt for a playoff spot come December.

He may be a bit of a late bloomer. But at 30 years of age, there’s still plenty of time left for Mayfield to produce something meaningful in Tampa. It’s just a matter of whether Jason Licht believes that as well.