The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and All-Pro wide receiver Mike Evans agreed to terms on a two-year contract, league sources confirm to FanBuzz.
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News of Evans' deal, a two-year pact worth $52 million that includes $35 million fully guaranteed, was first reported by Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network.
Mike Evans gets $52 million over two years to remain with the #Buccaneers. A big payday for a player who will be 31 on opening day but continues to produce at 1,000+ receiving yards per season. https://t.co/Tn0eLomcpm
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) March 4, 2024
According to league conversations, a robust market had been lining up for Evans, who has surpassed 1,000 receiving yards in each of his first 10 NFL seasons. Tampa Bay was always expected to make Evans a priority, and this deal keeps one of the most consistent receivers in place for at least two more seasons.
Evans was primed to be the best available wide receiver when free agency began, but Tampa Bay did not want to risk losing him, especially to a division rival such as the Carolina Panthers or for him to become a missing piece to take Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs' offense to even previously unseen heights.
Prior to signing Evans to this new contract, Tampa Bay was projected to have approximately $43.9 million in cap space, the 11th most spending flexibility in the league as free agency nears.
Evans is coming off a 2023 campaign in which he caught 79 passes for 1,255 yards and 13 touchdowns, just one score shy of his career-best set in 2021.
"He's still playing at a very high level," an NFC Personnel Director recently told FanBuzz, on the condition of anonymity to speak freely about a player under contract with another team. "He hasn't appeared to slow down at all."
Alongside Chris Godwin, Evans comprises half of the most prolific wide receiver duo in Buccaneers franchise history. Evans has caught 762 passes for 11,680 yards and 94 touchdowns thus far in his career.
Now, at age 31, Tampa ensures that Evans' best years of Evans' prime will come in a Buccaneers uniform.
"He's an unprecedented player. We want him to be a Buc for life," Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht told reporters last week at the NFL combine.
