Breaking: Mike Evans signs massive $52M deal with Bucs – Details Inside!
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and five-time Pro Bowl receiver Mike Evans have agreed to a two-year, $52 million deal that includes $35 million guaranteed, his agent, Deryk Gilmore, told ESPN on Monday.
Evans, who was set to enter free agency next week, now has a real opportunity to start and end his career as a “Buc for life” in Tampa.
Gilmore said the deal, which averages $26 million per season, is the largest for a wide receiver of this age on his third contract. It's an early contract, with $29 million of the $44 million base value due at signing.
“Fire those cannons!” Evans published to Instagram on Monday.
Bringing back Evans will not only help the Buccaneers' offense but will also serve as another recruiting catalyst to re-sign free agent quarterback Baker Mayfield, who has said he hopes to continue playing with the standout receiver.
“He's a record-breaking player. We want him to be a Buc for life,” general manager Jason Licht said last week at the NFL combine.
Evans had been set to enter free agency when the negotiating period begins March 11. He was projected to be one of the best, if not the best, wide receivers available through free agency. The Kansas City Chiefs, among others, were expected to be interested.
Other top free agent wide receivers include Tee Higgins, Michael Pittman, Calvin Ridley, Odell Beckham Jr. and Michael Thomas.
The Bucs and Evans failed to reach an agreement before the start of the 2023 regular season, and discussions were postponed until after the season, when the Sept. 9 deadline passed.
Evans, 30, pushed that disappointment aside and turned in one of the best performances of his career, tying him with a league-leading 13 receiving touchdowns, the first time he has finished atop the touchdowns leaderboard.
He reached the 1,000-yard receiving mark for the 10th consecutive season – an NFL record for the start of a career and just one shy of tying Hall of Famer Jerry Rice's overall record.
He put together multi-touchdown performances against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 12 and the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 16, and 100-plus yard games against the Chicago Bears in Week 2, Tennessee Titans in Week 10 and Carolina Panthers in Week 13.
The Bucs selected Evans seventh overall in the 2014 NFL draft, making him Licht's first pick as general manager. Since then, Evans has become one of the NFL's star receivers, with five Pro Bowl selections (2016, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2023).
Evans, a three-time Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee, and his wife Ashli's Mike Evans Family Foundation, have provided more than $470,000 in scholarships to students in Florida and Texas, while also helping victims of domestic violence. In 2023, Evans wrote a children's book called “Mike Evans' High School Rules,” which highlights the adversity Evans faced losing his father, Mickey, and growing up in Galveston after Hurricane Ike.
ESPN's Jenna Laine contributed to this report.
