Extending Mike Evans
May 26th, 2025
New contract possibilities.
Joe isn’t sure the Bucs are hellbent on wanting to extend Mike Evans… this summer.
Evans, who tied the great Jerry Rice for most consecutive 1,000-yard receiving seasons last year at 11, has been a team anchor since he was drafted in 2014.
The future Hall of Famer will retire with the Bucs. Some day. Who knows how soon that may be? He’s now in the final year of his contract.
Joe isn’t sure the Bucs want to extend Evans this summer. That doesn’t mean the Bucs won’t. But Tyler Sullivan of CBS seems to think Evans is more likely than not to get extended.
Soon.
…it would be pretty remarkable to see Evans playing anywhere other than Tampa. The 31-year-old continues to be among the best boundary receivers in the NFL and has registered 11 straight seasons of 1,000 yards. His current deal pays him an AAV of $20.5 million and should continue to be in that range, if not exceed it.
Here is why Joe thinks the Bucs are not in a hurry to extend Evans:
You can probably count on one hand how many stud receivers there on in the NFL over the age of 30. Generally, 30 or 31 years old is the DMZ when top-shelf receivers begin to fade. That’s Father Time doing his natural and undefeated thing.
Armed with that info, Joe has a hunch the Bucs want to see how Evans, who turns 32 in August, plays this fall. It wouldn’t be very smart to extend Evans to top-shelf money this summer only to see Evans start to slip or show signs that he’s a senior citizen wide receiver.
The Bucs likely have a ton of good players they will need to re-sign, or want to. Luke Goedeke, Zyon McCollum and Cade Otton are going to want to be paid. Lavonte David may want another season, and Haason Reddick is a wild card. Each is in a contract year. The following season Calijah Kancey, Cody Mauch and YaYa Diaby will be in contract years.
And oh yeah, Baker Mayfield is going to want to be paid, too. His contract is up after 2026 and Joe wouldn’t be shocked if his agent and Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht have already talked turkey about a reworked deal.
So Joe bets the team will be cautious about extending Evans rather than being aggressive. The Bucs are very close to the point of counting nickels versus throwing Team Glazer loot around.
May 26th, 2025 at 5:48 am
Sadly for we fans, except for D.R. and the rest of our capologists, this isn’t about the actual money!!! It’s only about trying to meet the challenge of the NFL’s very successful run at parity…THE SALARY CAP.
So I don’t really have an informed opinion, some of the incredibly arcane details of managing a salary cap bore the bejesus out of me. That’s why I thank D.R. and the rest of our capologist so I don’t have to think of it.
I’m obviously aware it exists but that’s it! So if Jason can figure a way to not crush the cap ME deserves all the money he can make. They can load the contract with “performance clauses” to take care of the “age” concerns.
If ME wants maximum $$$ he’ll go along with those. He certainly doesn’t need the money!!! He’s already earned over 130 million and despite taxes, expenses, etc. He now has a net worth of 55 million according to reports. AGAIN…at 5% which is a horrible return but easily achieved that means Mike’s money earns 3 million a year if he never does another day’s work.
So does ME need the money? NO. Does he deserve the money? YES!!! Again I bring back Aretha…it’s called R E S P E C T and no current Buc…excepting perhaps LVD..deserves more respect than Mike.
May 26th, 2025 at 6:07 am
Agree with both Joe and stpetebucsfan – Mike definitely deserves the money as well as Baker and others. Hoping they can negotiate something to keep Mike. He is the heart and soul of the team and hopefully he will retire down the road as a Buc. We all know there are other teams that would take Mike in a minute. Keep him here.
May 26th, 2025 at 7:08 am
They’ve let him, and Godwin play on the last year of their contracts before, why wouldn’t they do it again? Godwin was is this boat last season, they didn’t extend him. Evans played on his last year too. Both ended up getting new deals, Chris coming off a major injury. They didn’t do it for David either. Not going to happen. Licht has shown he’ll resign aging players, but he doesn’t do it till he has to.
May 26th, 2025 at 7:19 am
I think they re sign him but it’s probably going to be 1 year deals going forward like we have been doing with David. Wait until the year is up and see if he still wants to play then re sign him one year at a time at this point.
May 26th, 2025 at 7:30 am
WHEN Mike gets his 12th 1000 yard season in a row this year, there is not a snowball’s chance in hell that 13 doesn’t come back to TB for his 13th season to extend his HOF record to 13 straight 1000 yard seasons.
Jason Licht will find the cap room to do the right thing.
May 26th, 2025 at 7:31 am
13/13/13
May 26th, 2025 at 7:57 am
BucsFan81 … ‘I think they re sign him but it’s probably going to be 1 year deals going forward like we have been doing with David.’
Exactly! That’s the only realistic way to do older players. Ryan Jensen was 31 when he got hurt (2022) and we had just given him a brand-new 3-year contract (for $39 mil). We ended up paying out every bit of that and Ryan only played 1 game for us after his injury.
I still don’t like the NFL rules for holding the team accountable for the full contract in the salary CAP for devastating (and career-ending) injuries like that, but until they change it, year-to-year contracts for older players makes sense.
May 26th, 2025 at 8:14 am
Not going there right now. Mike is a Buc until further notice.
Go Bucs!
May 26th, 2025 at 8:22 am
Being that Evans himself has spoken on not being in the league when Flag Football is played in the 2028 Olympics, it’s likely the team & Evans decide on the 1yr deal route as his career winds down. Mike’s too much of a team guy to force a long-term deal & then retire a year or two into it. Very curious to know if matching Rice at 14 1k seasons is a goal of his or not though.
May 26th, 2025 at 8:28 am
Some have all…let’s salute them today!!!
Evans gave all….lets pay the man…
May 26th, 2025 at 8:36 am
Way too early for this, but…. over 30 means year to year….
May 26th, 2025 at 8:55 am
As many of the pragmatic have said, pay the man but year to year. He said he wants to be retired and play for the Olympics in 2028 so I suspect he is thinking 1-2 more years.
May 26th, 2025 at 9:01 am
Why don’t the Bucs ever Extend some guys a year early so they don’t have to Worry about so many of them each year like next year Luke Zyon an Cade my guess is they let cade walk but then year after that you got Cancey Yaya Mauch who I think all need to be back at least Cancey an Mauch I really hope Yaya steps back up hopefully he will
May 26th, 2025 at 9:13 am
Mike may not want to play much longer, either. I think he’s closer to the end of his career than most think.
May 26th, 2025 at 10:10 am
I’m so happy we’re getting all these contract issues. That means we’re drafting excellent and pretty soon. We’re gonna start collecting all these comp picks
May 26th, 2025 at 10:20 am
I think we should extend Trey Palmer & Sterling Shepard first.👍 They’re gonna be more desperate to find a team. Maybe one of the UFL teams will take them.
May 26th, 2025 at 10:56 am
can’t sign everyone. it’s clearer what teams need to do in the NBA with fewer players to juggle, but the bottom line is this. trade players before you lose them for nothing. we need to identify which guys we probably want to replace and move them before it’s too late. Mike isn’t in that group I don’t think. I think he’d probably be best suited with a hometown discount deal, maybe with an extra year instead of extra annual money for cap reasons. Regarding the players in the other two groups, it will depend more on the market for their positions and the availability of replacement level talent. I don’t think Luke is replaceable for example, and OTs get paid. Kancey probably the same, I don’t think we could replace him. The others, we probably can come close at least for the same or even less money than a big extension.
May 26th, 2025 at 11:51 am
There is a point where player’s have to make a choice in this league, money or respect.
Evans has money, and nothing says respect like a SB ring.
No matter what, the Bucs are facing big-ish cap money to Evans in 2026 as a void year in his contract.
Evans playing in 2026 would involve not just more cap money but also more actual cash money which Evans seems to already have a lot of.
More money is always nice, but, another SB ring would really bolster the kind of respect that secures early entrance into the Hall of Fame and boosts post career earning potential in jerseys and memorabilia sales, and media and marketing
contracts.
If Evans and the Bucs have a good year that makes a 2026 SB appear to be in reach, there are smart money reasons for Evans to comes back for less than top dollar.
But, 2026 is the year when many contracts expire and the Bucs either have to play dangerous cap games to keep the band together or move on to draftees and cheap free agents. That makes this year’s draft class and next year’s draft class very important as the Bucs decide how much of the future to mortgage to keep veterans on the field.
Hopefully, Evans has another stellar year and is a Buc for year’s to come as the Bucs continue to juggle the pieces and find even greater success.
May 26th, 2025 at 12:07 pm
@D.R.
What is the cap hit for performance “bonuses”.
IE A guy signs a 5 million dollar base contract. In addition he’s given several incentive clauses…catches, games played, yardage etc than CAN total as much as 15 million.
How is the cap hit figured since 15 million is only money earned after the fact.
So if he qualifies for an additional 10 million in bonuses does ten million go onto the next year’s cap?
May 26th, 2025 at 12:30 pm
Evans said he would participate in the Olympics if he was retired. “This is good practice for me in the Olympics,” Evans said, via ESPN’s Jenna Laine. “Most likely I’ll be retired by 2028.
May 26th, 2025 at 1:09 pm
Evans is grossly underpaid as one of the top wideouts in the league. Give him a three year deal now avg 30 mil a year. He cannot ever play inanother uniform
May 26th, 2025 at 1:33 pm
Maybe we’ll start giving Mike the annual “Lavonte Special” one year deals. He’s likely to go off this season since he’s in a contract year. If he does, I could see another two year deal thrown his way. I believe Mike will want to play as long as he still can hit his 1000’s.
May 26th, 2025 at 1:43 pm
JOE from a business stand point yes that’s the right way to go but man he’s earned another payday as a fan I would pay him but keep it in the low 20s like he’s bin making which for his talent is underpaid
May 26th, 2025 at 2:12 pm
stpetebucsfan, you’re opening a can of worms that can only lead to confusion to this JBF. The good news for us is we’ve got a HOFer who went for a 1000 in 13 games last year. And the team isn’t about to let him go anywhere. Structuring the deal is boring and confusing. I seek excitement and clarity. And I find that in Mike Evans. Wish I could play some catch with him. I could be the automatic QB and he could go out for some passes!
May 26th, 2025 at 2:46 pm
If anyone on the Bucs should get a new contract, it’s Baker Mayfield.
May 26th, 2025 at 3:21 pm
saw predict 20 mill Zyon and 12 mill Otton, were we to resign them early enough. I don’t see how you give Zyon 20 until we know how good he actually is. in our system, you don’t learn jack about anyone on the edges, only the middle
May 26th, 2025 at 3:37 pm
Its the right thing to do
May 26th, 2025 at 4:03 pm
Everything depends on how the Bucs do this year. Meaning on who gets extended or released. Seems to me that if they do well and compete for a Super Bowl then most will be extended and that means not only players, coaches too. If they have a bad or mediocre season expect plenty of changes as far as players and coaches.
May 26th, 2025 at 4:24 pm
It would be a shame to ever see Mike Don a uniform that isn’t the Bucs but as others have mentioned, the smart move would be 1 year extensions (Like LVD) for Mike going forward.
I personally hope he goes out on top, never having experienced an NFL season under 1k yards.
May 26th, 2025 at 5:38 pm
Said last deal the Bucs should have given Mike at least a 3-year deal, and really go 4-years. The idea was that you’d give up term for a cheaper deal – then the Bucs signed him on a cheap deal and a short term.
But the guy who, physically, I think he compares to is Vincent Jackson, who was productive through age 32 (he got injured, but was still productive). But with as good as Jackson was, he’s no Evans, and I always figured Mike will get at least one additional year of being an elite WR, so through age 33 – after that I think he’ll fall off a bit, but you’re talking about going from elite to maybe just a good starting NFL WR for another year.
Also, with the way the Bucs do deals, and kick the ball down the road, signing a longer term deal actually means the full impact of his salary isn’t going to truly be felt until he’s no longer on the team – so an extension would make a lot of sense if you think the Bucs window will remain open.
May 26th, 2025 at 9:27 pm
you really can’t let mike leave if the 1.000 yard seasons are still going consecutively…
imagine you let him walk and he gets a couple more elsewhere…
it’ll be a real bad look on a grand scale if he does that, say…in jacksonville, miami, houston or with the cowboys in the star helmet…
and let’s say the streak stops with 888 yards this season…and he goes elsewhere and then rocks 2-3 more 1k seasons…that’ll still be a bad look…
gotta find a way to keep everyone happy and make mike a buc for life…
you don’t let gold jackets walk out the building if you can help it
May 27th, 2025 at 7:57 am
StPete … ‘What is the cap hit for performance “bonuses”’.
To be honest, I look almost strictly at the ‘bottom line’ St Pete, and that’s the current CAP hit for each player. The ‘rules’ of how they get there seem to be quite ‘flexible’ (including ‘void years’, etc).
May 27th, 2025 at 11:23 am
I spoke with Tampa Bay management and they informed me that Mike will get a 3 year 67 million dollar deal with a 12 million dollar signing bonus and 40 million guaranteed.