MAY 14: Winfield’s deal is not backloaded, nor does it include any void years (as many modern NFL pacts do). He will receive $24MM this season, followed by $21MM next year; both figures are fully guaranteed, per Schefter. $20MM of the 2024 compensation is a bonus, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk adds. The $45MM locked in represents far more than what he would have earned playing on consecutive franchise tags ($37.65MM).
Winfield will see nearly identical compensation in 2026 and ’27 ($19.5MM, then $19.6MM). A $1.5MM roster bonus is in place for the latter year, by which point he will have cashed in considerably on the strong play to open his career.
MAY 13: As the Buccaneers hoped would take place, Antoine Winfield Jr. has agreed to a long-term extension. The All-Pro safety has a four-year, $84.1MM deal in place, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The team has since confirmed the news. 
This pact – which will see Winfield earn $45MM fully guaranteed, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network – represents the largest contract ever given out to a defensive back of any kind. This marks the first time in NFL history that a safety (rather than a corner) holds the title of the league’s highest-paid DB.
The 2024 offseason included a number of key priorities for Tampa Bay with respect to keeping as many core players in the fold as possible. Hammering out extensions for quarterback Baker Mayfield and receiver Mike Evans allowed the team to use the franchise tag on Winfield. That was of course seen as a placeholder to allow for further negotiations on a long-term pact carrying a much larger AAV than the $17.12MM Winfield was originally due to earn this season. His 2024 cap hit will drop to roughly $7MM, per Fox Sports’ Greg Auman.
The 25-year-old’s deal averages $21.03MM per season, making this the first safety accord to eclipse the $20MM-per-year mark. As expected, Winfield has surpassed the likes of Derwin James, Minkah Fitzpatrick and 2024 signee Xavier McKinney atop the pecking order at his position. Three corners (Jaire Alexander, Denzel Ward and Jalen Ramsey) are at or above $20MM per season, but today’s move marks a victory for Winfield as the new standard for a position group which has generally been undervalued this offseason.
A number of veteran safeties were released in the build-up to free agency, and well after the draft many of them are still unsigned. Winfield’s age and production had him positioned to earn a massive raise, however. The former second-rounder led the NFL with six forced fumbles in 2023, adding six sacks, three interceptions and 122 tackles. He is set to remain a massive part of Tampa Bay’s defense for years to come.
Secondary moves have been a common thread for the Buccaneers recently, with fellow safety Jordan Whitehead being brought back in free agency. Tampa Bay – a team which traded away cornerback Carlton Davis – also drafted Tykee Smith in the third round, and he has experience on the backend. The latter is expected to compete for the starting slot corner role, however, something which would make for an intriguing trio alongside Winfield and Whitehead.
Of the 2024 franchise tag recipients, only Bengals wideout Tee Higgins remains unattached to a multi-year deal. He has a standing trade request amidst a lack of progress on contract negotiations with Cincinnati. For the Buccaneers, meanwhile, one major piece of business remains with respect to retaining top contributors for the long haul. Left tackle Tristan Wirfs (who is a candidate to join Winfield in topping his position’s market) is in need of an extension since he is set to play on his fifth-year option in 2024. Buccaneers GM Jason Licht is confident a Wirfs deal can be worked out, and doing so would complete a very busy offseason.
Schmoney
Well, Great Googly Moogly!!!
The amount of money any of these guys at the top get paid is ridiculous.
Blame the fans. Buying $200 jerseys, spending $500 on tickets, buying $20 beers, etc. is why these guys get paid what they do.
Who cares how much people pay or what these guys make. Jealous and bitter?
TV money has a lot more to do with it than fan purchases. Live football is one of the dwindling number of areas where ad buyers still actually get their money’s worth.
Earned it, hopefully he stays healthy. He is best when he can play free and make plays, short-medium coverage guy.
Now they need to get Wirfs extension done.
A gross overpay. This man has given up 16 TDs in 4 years and averages an opposing QB Rating of well over 100 on balls thrown his way. I understand he isn’t a cover safety but when you play DB you still have to cover. Woof.
Good for him to get the deal, bad for the team.
Not a cover safety, I remember the tds he has given up and many were due to busted coverage. There are a few he has been lined up 1 on 1 with and lost. He is best used as a chess piece which is why he can blitz and make plays.
The corners CD3 and Dean were hurt a lot too so rough corner play.
I mentioned he isn’t a cover safety. This is the same convo for Jamaal Adam’s for his career. Can’t cover. Even if you don’t play Free you need to cover at some point.
He allows a lot of catches. He tackles, sure but after he lets the ball get caught.
Winfield is not Adams…Winfield is more consistent. He is a better tackler, great at blitzing, he has better hands(example being the Int vs Indy the deep pass to Pittman), breaks up passes.
Jessie Bates
has given up 18 tds and only played 1 extra year than Winfield. It maybe a skewed stat since they attribute the CB getting beat or misunderstanding the coverage as Safeties fault.
There is the caveat for Adams that he was actually very good in coverage with the Jets.
Its not the players fault. If a team is dumb enough to give record breaking money to players that havent provided record breaking contract numbers on the field then that is on the team. A player should try to get as much money as a team is willing to give them