The contract negotiations between the Buccaneers and star wide receiver Mike Evans have reportedly reached an impasse, according to Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times.
Stroud indicates that it’s “likely” Evans’s last season in Tampa Bay following the stoppage in contract talks between the 30-year-old and the franchise where he’s played his entire NFL career.
Stroud reports that Evans was believed to be seeking a new contract that was similar in value to the three-year, $81 million deal Cooper Kupp signed with the Rams in June of 2022.
As it stands, Evans is entering the final season of a five-year, $82.5 million contract he signed in 2018. He’s due to hit unrestricted free agency next year. In 2023, he’ll carry a cap hit north of $23 million.
Evans has been in Tampa Bay since he was drafted by the Buccaneers with the No. 7 pick in the 2014 NFL draft. He’s the only wide receiver in NFL history to record 1,000+ receiving yards in each of his first nine seasons to start a career and has never played in fewer than 13 games in a single season.
Despite his longevity and consistency for the franchise, the two sides have been unable to find common ground on a new deal. Stroud indicates that talks between Evans and the organization have gone “nowhere.”
