“Best Bargain… In The League”
July 15th, 2025
Nick Wright on Bucs’ star QB.
Yesterday, it was learned there was a bloodletting at FS1.
Three of the network’s weekday hollering shows were canceled and several on-air co-hosts were shown the door, including one face of the network, allegedly interoffice promiscuous Joy Taylor.
However, Nick Wright and his morning show, “First Things First,” survived.
Recently, Wright had an interesting on-air take on Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield.
Wright made the case Mayfield was both overexposed as a young player and overrated. (Remember those insurance commercials where he lived in the Browns’ stadium?)
However, since coming to the Bucs, Mayfield has totally flipped the narrative, Wright said. He feels Mayfield is underexposed and underrated, as documented by Xaiver Aguiar of The Sporting News.
“When Baker wasn’t great, he was over-discussed,” Wright said. “And now that he’s really good, I think he’s under-discussed. The fact that he’s established himself as a conventional-wisdom top-ten quarterback is pretty remarkable.
“Take the guys on the rookie scale deals out—it makes him the best bargain at the position in the league.”
Hard to argue with Wright here. Mayfield has more touchdown passes thrown the past two seasons than any quarterback. Yes, even more than Saint Lamar Jackson.
And, since coming to the Bucs, Mayfield averages two touchdown passes a game. That’s wild!
You better believe Mayfield’s agent knows he’s a bargain. If the Bucs do anything in the playoffs, you can pretty much bet a plate of Hooters wings that Mayfield’s agent is going to want his client’s contract reworked.
And it’s hard to blame Mayfield for wanting a fair market value. He’s done everything the Bucs have asked of him. Probably way more.
When the Bucs signed Mayfield in the spring of 2023, did anyone expect Mayfield to be a top-10 quarterback? Hell, there are still desperate Bucs fans screaming that Kyle Trask somehow got jobbed.
Can you imagine?
“When Baker wasn’t great, he was over-discussed. And now that he’s really good, I think he’s under-discussed.”@getnickwright says Mayfield is a top 10 QB: pic.twitter.com/l7zNzOODeL
— First Things First (@FTFonFS1) May 27, 2025
July 15th, 2025 at 10:38 am
Or maybe having Wirfs, Evans, Godwin when healthy and a star rookie RB makes an average QB look top 10? If they overpay to resign Baker it will tank this team for years.
July 15th, 2025 at 10:52 am
Anyone still clamoring for Trashk to start needs to read the Mike Glennon article. There’s your comp for Kyle. The Glennon ceiling would be a stretch for Kyle, but maybe he can someday lose 10 starts in a row.
July 15th, 2025 at 11:00 am
Extend him for 2 more years, 50 million a year would be a bargain! again! I think Bake would take another team friendly deal!! Go Bucs
July 15th, 2025 at 11:06 am
i think baker is underpaid relative to the market considering his production the last two years. hard to argue he isnt underpaid.
kyle who?
July 15th, 2025 at 11:07 am
132??? Really? As if the Browns team he had wasn’t loaded and had a great Defense?
July 15th, 2025 at 11:29 am
Always thought we got lucky getting Baker. He keeps getting better too. Perfect fit for the Bucs. The Browns did him wrong to our benefit. He is underpaid. Mike is underpaid. They both have families that want to stay here, but they should still get the money in order to keep them here. You can bet, there are many teams waiting to reach out to both.
July 15th, 2025 at 11:39 am
I think Baker’s maturity coupled with the Bucs’ organization and offensive talent made for the perfect fit. Baker will thrive here for the rest of his career. Hats off the JL for bringing him onboard and hats off to Baker for taking on the role of leader and living up to his potential. It’s given us fans much needed optimism for the future.
July 15th, 2025 at 12:10 pm
“And it’s hard to blame Mayfield for wanting a fair market value.”
I wouldn’t “blame” him although I’d disagree massively with the decision.
We’ve been over Brady the GOAT’s logic for giving hometown discounts. It wasn’t because he was so fond of BB/Kraft or Chowderhead fans. He may have like them but he did it because it was SMART!
Competing in the post season year in and year out much less reaching a SB givess a QB incredible exposure!!! IE Mucho dinero in endorsements.
It’s actually possible that Baker could take more money from the wrong franchise and disappear. The money he would lose in endorsement possibilities mighty actually exceed that which he gained in the larger contract.
And perhaps because I’m a dummy who turned down more money in a bigger market more than once to stay with a winning organization of people I ENJOYED working with I can see a larger picture.
How much bling, fancy houses and cars does one guy really need. How much does he need for generational wealth for himself and all his relatives? He’s ALREADY passed that mark!
July 15th, 2025 at 12:12 pm
Besides Nick Wrights loyalty to Klutch sports/Lebron – First Things First is a pretty great show. I’ll take that show a million times out of a million over first take and get up. FTF is an enjoyable afternoon show.
July 15th, 2025 at 12:41 pm
At least Wright got a haircut. No more Joy? What will I do. lol.
July 15th, 2025 at 12:48 pm
Extend him ,, I agree w upstate ,, 50 mil , 2 years more that’s an ave of 42 a year for the duration ,,, restructure ,, get some cap space and pay others ,,,
July 15th, 2025 at 12:53 pm
I don’t see why all of the praise goes to Baker, but not the coaching staff and GM, for putting all of the pieces together..
Me personally, l don’t believe in breaking the bank for these QBs
They are only as good as the players around them
Tom Brady chose the Bucs because he knew they had great players
We can win with a different QB, other than Baker (Proving after Brady retired). This team is solid all around, our mishaps has been the injuries. But we good players on this roster.
July 15th, 2025 at 1:31 pm
Baker is a Bucs man.
It’s a business, everyone understands that but I will be shocked if Baker holds the Bucs over a barrel for top $.
He’s found a home, he’s been winning, he’s already been well paid. I bet we keep him around at roughly $45 million per. The way the cap moves up every year, will be a good deal for both sides.
There has been some debate recently with Florida winning the Cup again about the Florida advantage. I wouldn’t say it’s unfair but it is certainly real, IF the Florida franchise is well run, has a strong culture. $5-$10 million before taxes are factored in is never gonna entice these pro athletes and their families to move from Florida to Boston or Columbus unless that’s the difference between winning and losing which it currently isn’t. Most people would much rather not pay the tax and golf/beach all year.
July 15th, 2025 at 1:54 pm
Aqualung, you are so predictable you are exhausting.
July 15th, 2025 at 2:00 pm
i knew he was top 10, stoked to get him. the browns and panthers were stupid bad teams that passed on him. i didn’t know he was going to regularly take on linebackers for first downs and be such a great leader, all that’s left for his career is the SB ring!!!
July 15th, 2025 at 2:03 pm
IT’S THE EVANS EFFECT – SHOW THE MAN SOME RESPECT
Johnny Football
>With 13: Heisman and 1st Round Pick
>W/O 13: Out of the League
J Winston
>With 13: 5,000 Yards, Pro Bowl
>W/O 13: Backup
TB12
>With 13: 4500 Yards, Super Bowl
>1yr Pre 13: “Washed”, Unsigned
Baker
>With 13: 4500 Yards, 2x Pro Bowl
>W/O 13: 3 Teams, Backup, Cut, “Bust” label
July 15th, 2025 at 2:26 pm
Baker is a bargain, but it’s the Bucs that handed him a golden opportunity. Baker will get a long term deal after this season. The market by then might be north of 70 million. If Baker signs for 60 a year next contract, he’d still be a bargain. I see him excepting a deal like that to help keep a better roster around him. We will see. That’s after this season. Next week it all begins. Time for football talk, not offseason contract talk.
July 15th, 2025 at 3:34 pm
$50 mill/yr will be a bargain
Do it. Not having to draft a franchise QB is huge.
We have one. Pay him.
July 15th, 2025 at 3:36 pm
Bring back the Baker living in the stadium commercials!
They were fun (and spared us bad Mahomes and Manning commercials.
July 15th, 2025 at 3:57 pm
I can’t believe how dumb some “analysts” are. He said Baker “struggled mightily”. How about since you are an analyst, you pay attention a little better. Baker just about played his whole season in 2021 with a fractured shoulder AND a completely torn labrum. Do you think 🤔 that could of had something to do with his play and not that it was his lack of talent like you insinuated it was?? He struggled mightly, wow. Do we know how painful that must have been? If that doesn’t say something about Baker Mayfield, nothing will. Do your job, pay attention before you utter nonsense.
July 15th, 2025 at 5:10 pm
SaskBucs
Agree with your post completely with a little holdup on the “state tax advantage’
Wealthy people do NOT pay taxes like the rest of us. One of them even famously admitted he paid NOTHING and said it meant he was smart. That’s another debate.
The question is how much does the lack of state taxes effect Baker’s deal?
I looked it up. Baker and all NFL athletes have to pay state taxes where they reside (if he lives here, zero) and taxes to all the states that have the so called “jock tax” on visiting athletes. So yes HALF of his money starts off untaxed, again provided he can prove residency, but the other half not so much.
This means for example Baker will pay state taxes to Lousiana and Carolina when the Bucs play the Saints and Panthers but not the Falcons as Ga has a flat State tax but doesn’t have a “jock tax” on visiting pro athletes.
21 states have these “jock taxes” which includes the majority of NFL cities.
July 15th, 2025 at 5:11 pm
Oops I’ll get corrected by the spelling police..affected not effected.
July 15th, 2025 at 5:29 pm
Cleveland had a great team around him????!
I’m still thinking about that statement ,,, Cleveland had a great team around him,,,,, please explain that statement ,,, he came in and they had not won a game in ??? I can’t even recall
July 15th, 2025 at 6:00 pm
The Browns had a very good OL and a great running back and a very good defense. Baker didn’t hold them back and actually nearly beat Mahomes in the second round of playoffs, if I remember correctly. He was pretty young then, too. He always played well when healthy and in a healthy situation.
I empathize with him quite a lot. He gets a lot of criticism from incels because he’s so darn handsome!
July 15th, 2025 at 6:10 pm
stpetebucsfan …”How much bling, fancy houses and cars does one guy really need.”
Lots of it StPete. Having grown up a rich kid I understand the need for MORE money. Rich peeps get used to having expensive toys. In order to keep buying those toys they need MORE and more money.
Take Michael Jordan for instance, lots of people thought it was crazy for him to ask for $30 + million a season back in the day. They’d say things like he already has enough money why does he keep asking for more? Same thing with Jordan in order to keep buying expensive things you need MORE money.
July 15th, 2025 at 6:41 pm
As much as anything, I believe that it’s about ‘fit’ for any QB. Geno Smith is a great example IMO. Played 4 years with the Jets and averaged 57.9% Completion Percentage. Had 1 year with the Giants and averaged 58.3% Completion Percentage. And in those 5 years Geno compiled a 12-19 regular season record. But in his 5 years with Seattle he’s averaged 68.5% Completion Percentage and compiled a 28-24 regular season record.
Huge difference between his 2nd 5 years and his 1st 5 years. Why? Part of it was surely coaching, but a big part was also that his skillset ‘fit’ better with the Seahawks.
Same thing with Baker & the Bucs. His skillset, to include his leadership skills, fit this team to a T. Bucs didn’t start by building the team around Baker, but in these past 2 years we’ve certainly added ‘pieces’ that are complementing what Baker brings to the table. And gut feel is that Egbuka is gonna be a great example of that.
July 15th, 2025 at 6:55 pm
@bucs1987 – MJ is a horrible example…he was grossly underpaid in previous years…I mean grossly. The year before his $30+ mill salary he was only making $3.85 mill – Magic made $14 mill in 94 and Ewing was paid $18 mill the year MJ was paid $3.85 mill
July 15th, 2025 at 7:26 pm
Bucs1987
“Rich peeps get used to having expensive toys. In order to keep buying those toys they need MORE and more money.”
I hear ya. No doubt our nation is the place that gave us Michael Douglas famous movie line…Greed is good.
I’ve never really met a happy greedy person. I think the bling just covers some internal issues. OTOH I’ve met a gazillion “everyday” people that have their lives together and their values in place and are incredibly happy.
But to each their own or as John Lennon sang…”Whatever Gets You Through the Night.”
Baker is in the rare position of having his cake and eating it too if he plays his crds right.
July 15th, 2025 at 8:48 pm
Bucs4Ever …I was talking about when MJ was doing 1 year deals.
July 15th, 2025 at 10:25 pm
Bargains that produce, don’t stay bargains.
Most GM’s build teams to minimize weakness, maximize strengths. Bucs did a lot of that work for Brady – it just worked out that Baker had been cast-off by a bad Cleveland decision and an equally bad decision-maker in Carolina.
Both of us got good deals. Baker fits with the Bucs because we had some really good talent. If we didn’t, the team would be blown up and we’d be doing what we typically did before the GOAT arrived: getting rid of talent (blowing up the team) for picks and creating cap space…in order to pick the next Jameis Winston… being a long term Bucs fan gives you an interesting perspective. I’ve been very happy with the Baker Mayfield era, it’s shown improvement every year. Another good year from him (and at least a NFL-average defense), this team may be taking a really surprising “next step”. Can’t wait for this season to begin!