The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and their quarterback, Baker Mayfield, have stared at the same deadline all offseason, and the gap between them hasn’t closed. But NFL Insider Adam Schefter has now revealed what both sides need to do to finally get locked in.

“I always think that this is a window now, till the start of camp and the first few days of camp for teams and players to work out extensions,” Schefter said on the Pat McAfee Show. “I think you’ll see a bunch of extensions get done here in the coming weeks for players that are worthy of them, for teams that want to keep certain guys.

“And I would think the Buccaneers will definitely be working to try to get a deal done with Baker. We’ll see whether the two sides can come up with an agreement, a compromise on value, they were not close before, there’s some ground to make up now, but both sides I think would like to see if they can get something done.”

General manager Jason Licht has also said he wants to get a deal done soon, but as he admitted this June, “they’re never easy.” Baker Mayfield, on the other hand, has set a firm deadline for the contract talks, and he won’t let that come in the way of his 2026 campaign.

“Obviously, yes, I would love to have a long-term deal done,” Mayfield said in June. “But, they know my deadline – as soon as training camp starts, we’re not doing contract stuff. It’s all ball. So, It’s not up to me when that gets done by. So, hopefully before that. If not, we’re still going to have a good year.”

Baker Mayfield’s market value backs up his leverage. Spotrac projects a 4-year, $214.4M deal for him, with $53.6M AAV. This projection sits $20M above his current average salary of $33M a year, and could put him on the list of the Top 8 highest-paid QBs in the league. But the two sides haven’t agreed on a number yet, and Schefter believes the Bucs will have to up the ante to keep Mayfield in Tampa Bay.

Above all else, Mayfield doesn’t want to go anywhere. On the same interview where he revealed his training camp deadline, he also revealed he loves Tampa.

“First and foremost, regardless, we’ve built roots here in Tampa,” He said. “We love the community, we love being here. They’ve embraced us. We enjoy being here and, obviously, are going to raise kids here.”

Incidentally, Mayfield is also one of the featured quarterbacks in Season 3 of Netflix’s docuseries Quarterback – which is set to drop on July 14th. The series will show us the 2025 season through Mayfield’s lens, and will probably only help further his stock with the fanbase.

The Bucs have two paths forward. They can meet Mayfield’s number now, while the market is still quiet. Or they can wait, hope the docuseries buzz fades, and risk losing him to free agency in 2027. Schefter’s “ground to make up” isn’t just about money; it’s about whether Tampa Bay believes Baker Mayfield is worth paying the premium.