Pro Bowl wide receiver Mike Evans signed a two-year, $52 million contract to remain with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers one week before he was eligible to test the open market as an unrestricted free agent.
The first draft pick made by current general manager Jason Licht, Evans’ deal includes $35 million guaranteed and his annual average earnings put him in the top four in the NFL at his position. This is his third contract with the Buccaneers.
Evans, 30, was ticketed for free agency at the turn of the new league year next week. He just finished a five-year, $82.5 million contract with the Bucs, but Licht and head coach Todd Bowles sent strong signals in recent days that they weren’t letting Evans out of town.
“He came to work every day, he came into play every day, as you can see as a result from his statistics,” Bowles said at the NFL Scouting Combine last week. “You know, he he’s been here for like a decade and he’s done the same thing every year. He’s been very consistent. He’s very dynamic yet he’s very humble off the field, but he’s a confident player. He’s one of my favorite players. I have a lot of respect for Mike and everything he does. He’s earned what he done.”
Evans reached 1,000 receiving yards for the 10th straight season in 2023, a record at the outset of a career and just one off the overall consecutive seasons mark held by the legendary Jerry Rice. He had 79 catches for 1,255 yards with a league-leading 13 touchdowns.
Evans was selected No. 7 overall in the 2014 draft. He has 762 career receptions for 11,680 yards and 94 TDs in 154 games (153 starts). He also has 709 yards receiving and five TDs in nine postseason games, two of those TDs coming in the 2020 Super Bowl run.
Next up in Tampa is quarterback Baker Mayfield, whom the Bucs also hope to lock up with a long-term deal.
