TAMPA, Fla. — Baker Mayfield said he feels “disrespected” and “undervalued” by the Bucs ownership after failing to reach a contract extension by his self-imposed deadline of the start of training camp Tuesday.

The Bucs quarterback is in the final season of a three-year, $100 million deal and was hoping to make Tampa Bay his forever home.

Mayfield said Thursday that he addressed the team about his situation at the start of camp and vowed that it would be “all ball” from here on out.

“It’s disappointing in that regard, to feel disrespected a little bit,” Mayfield said. “That’s really the disappointing part to feel undervalued after you think you’ve earned it. This is not a ‘poor me’ thing today. There’s a lot of other people who have it way worse off. But I can sit here and look at other quarterbacks and peers and evaluate myself based on that and put myself in certain categories that I deserved to be compensated for that.

“I think I’m a franchise quarterback. I’ve been told I’m a franchise quarterback. It’s been said publicly from ownership on down here. So to not have a deal done, it’s very disappointing but I said the deadline was the deadline, and I addressed the team to let them know I meant that. It’s all ball with these guys.”

The Tampa Bay Times learned that Mayfield agreed to accept only a two-year deal, but the Bucs offer was reportedly significantly less than $50 million per year.

Mayfield spent more than the first three minutes of a news conference laying out the arguments for why the Bucs ownership should reward him as a “franchise quarterback.”

He ended negotiations one day after nose tackle Vita Vea requested to be traded after failing to reach a contract extension with the team. Vea reported to training camp but suffered a back strain during a team run Tuesday.

“I‘m not the first one to go through it like this. This is kind of historically how (the Bucs have) done negotiations, which is disappointing when you think you’re a cornerstone of the franchise to be treated like that,” Mayfield said.

The Bucs could decide to use the franchise tag on Mayfield after the season, but with some dead money carrying over, it would be a salary cap hit of nearly $80 million.

“I’m no dummy,” Mayfield said. “I know the contract and the salary cap and what’s going on, and the franchise tag isn’t exactly in place for them. There would be a lot of dead money. It is what it is.”

Mayfield isn’t alone. He said he’s hopeful that Vea can strike a deal with the Bucs to keep him in Tampa Bay. “Hopefully, Vita gets his back fixed and he gets his deal done,” Mayfield said. “He’s the second-longest tenured Buc behind C.G. (Chris Godwin) and Vita deserves that. He’s the anchor of our defense, so I hope they take care of him.”

Two years ago, Mayfield noted that All-Pro offensive tackle Tristan Wirfs had to stage a “hold-in” at the start of training camp before agreeing to a five-year, $140.63 million contract.

“I sat here and watched these guys go through it,” Mayfield said. “Even Tristan. You’re talking about the best tackle in the league, the only person in NFL history to be an All-Pro at right and left (tackle). He had to have a hold-in in training camp. So it’s disappointing. People take care of their guys.”

The Bucs don’t have a history of rewarding quarterbacks. Most have never made it to a second contract, a list that includes Steve Young, Vinny Testaverde, Trent Dilfer and Jameis Winston.

Tampa Bay enjoyed a relative bargain basement deal when they signed Mayfield to a one-year, $4 million contract as a free agent in 2023.

Not only was he having to replace Tom Brady, the seven-time Super Bowl champion, he was forced to compete with Kyle Trask for the starting job.

Mayfield responded by leading the Bucs to back-to-back NFC South titles and in 2024 he posted career-best in passing yards (4,500), touchdowns (41) and completion percentage (71.4).

Last season, Mayfield was among the leaders in the NFL MVP race after leading the Bucs to a 6-2 start with five fourth-quarter comebacks. But injuries to the offensive line and at the receiver position led to the Bucs losing seven of their final nine games and missing the playoffs for the first time since 2019.

Mayfield, who had 16 touchdowns and two interceptions through the first eight games, threw only 10 TDs against nine picks in the final nine games.

Mayfield said the fail contract negotiations won’t affect his preparation or his play.

“No, money should never be the motivation of football,” Mayfield said. “It’s how do I help this team win? It’s never going to be the motivation for me. When it comes to having a chip on your shoulder and all that, for me it puts me in the mindset of betting on myself and that’s something I’m pretty familiar with. You know? And it’s a good place to be as a highly competitive guy, sometimes you have to put yourself back in a corner and fight your way out. But I have a lot of guys and a lot of staff who are with me.”

Mayfield doesn’t plan to personally entertain any more offers during the season. “If my agent answers it, he’s not going to bother me with it unless it’s actually recognizing my value.”

He mentioned how he and wife Emily have been embraced by the Tampa Bay community and he has wanted to remain here.

“It’s felt like home and that’s probably the worst part about it, we do want to spend the rest of my career here, however long, God-willing, that is,” Mayfield said.

Despite his disappointment, it hasn’t been hard to refocus on football.

“When you’re not presented with an offer that’s appealing whatsoever, yeah, it’s easy to turn the page,” Mayfield said. ”But it’s also that time of the year that you’re itching to get back on the field to see how this team comes together."

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