The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have much to play for this weekend against the New Orleans Saints, including a spot in the playoffs. Mike Evans, in particular, can earn an extra $3 million with another consistent performance.
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Week 18 is the time when many players earn extra money through incentives in their contracts. Evans is a member of this group as he enters the regular-season finale within reach of two important statistics.
Evans just needs to catch five passes for 85 yards to secure a $3 million payday. Why are these two numbers so important? Five catches would take Evans to 70 on the season. Eighty-five yards would take him to 1,000 on the season.
This extra $3 million would be significant for Evans, who signed a two-year, $41 million extension in March. He locked up a $21,790,000 signing bonus when he put pen to paper, but he only earned $1,210,000 in base salary this season.
Catching five passes for 85 yards would put extra money in the veteran receiver's account. It would also help him keep his streak of consistency alive.
Evans has surpassed 1,000 yards receiving in every season of his NFL career (2014-present). He is within reach of this milestone yet again despite missing three games with an injury.
If Evans can reach 1,000 yards in Week 18, he will tie Hall of Famer Jerry Rice for the most consecutive 1,000-yard seasons in NFL history. This is an attainable goal, one that quarterback Baker Mayfield is well aware of.
"Let's put things in perspective," Mayfield said on Jan. 1, per the Buccaneers. "You're talking about tying somebody (Rice) that has all receiving records across the NFL throughout history.
"You're talking about somebody that's consistently been somebody in this community that has raised people up, continued to be the face of this franchise and be there for people, so that record is important for us. To get him to that — obviously, winning is the most important part, but those two things go hand in hand."
