Click through to visit BillCurrieFord.com and see their extraordinary June discounts. Family-owned in Tampa since 1960! Bill Currie Ford general manager Sean Sullivan is ready to help you PERSONALLY and give you the famous Ira Kaufman discount. Don’t Worry, Drive Currie!
BY IRA KAUFMAN
He’s made a small fortune, with a good chance to make a lot more. For Baker Mayfield, the time is approaching to make history.
There is no shortage of historic angles to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. How about the most dismal start (0-26) of any NFL franchise? Then there’s the worst overall record among the league’s 32 teams.
You get the picture.
There’s also a pair of Super Bowl blowout victories and five players inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, along with Coach Tony Dungy.
Here’s where Mayfield comes in — hand over fist. If his agent and the Bucs can come to terms on a big-time contract extension, Mayfield will be in position to end a quarterback gap unique to the Buccaneers.
Nobody has started under center for this franchise lasting more than five consecutive seasons. Four quarterbacks have come close, but it didn’t happen for various reasons through 50 years of Buccaneer football.
Mayfield could be the one to end this disturbing distinction.
(Quarterback — Years as starter in Tampa)
Doug Williams 1978-82
Vinny Testaverde 1988-92
Trent Dilfer 1995-99
Jameis Winston 2015-19
All were first-round picks whose five-year runs ended ingloriously without a second contract. Another first-round choice, Josh Freeman, labored under center from 2009-12 before losing his starting job to Mike Glennon early in the disastrous 2013 season that spelled the merciful end of the Greg Schiano era.
Let’s add some perspective, shall we?
Former Bucs QB Vinny Testaverde
This five-year ceiling for starting quarterbacks in Tampa is both historic and absurd. Every other team in the league has featured the same guy under center for at least six seasons, if not a lot more, at some point in their franchise annals.
Not so in Tampa, where quarterbacks are a mere passing fancy.
This is the Franchise of 1,000 Faces, where the most important player on the team never receives a long-term deal like Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, Trevor Lawrence, Brock Purdy, Justin Herbert, Lamar Jackson, Jalen Hurts or, alas, Deshaun Watson.
If Mayfield has a big season and the Bucs are successful, he’s going to spike that five-year ceiling into the ground. If not, the Bucs could be looking for a new leader in a quarterback-rich 2027 draft.
If the Bucs hadn’t suffered a post-bye meltdown in 2025, Mayfield would already have an extension to take him through the rest of the decade. The Glazers would have made sure Mayfield was locked in as the face of the franchise.
Instead, the losses mounted and Mayfield’s mistakes escalated. Given the sorry state of the defense, Mayfield pushed the envelope and his luck too far. He still has the respect of teammates, coaches and fans who admire the way Mayfield competes.
When he scrambles, Mayfield always knows where the sticks are. Dead ahead is that pesky five-year marker.
