Reports: Mike Evans Agrees to Five-Year Contract Extension With Buccaneers

The Bucs just locked up Jameis Winston’s favorite target.

Buccaneers receiver Mike Evans has agreed to a five-year contract extension, as first reported by NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. The deal can be worth as much as $82.5 million and includes $55 million in guaranteed money. 

The new deal will pay him $16.5 million per year, moving him from the NFL’s third-highest paid receiver to second, leapfrogging Jarvis Landry but still behind Antonio Brown. 

Evans had led the Bucs in receiving in each of his four seasons in the NFL, crossing the 1,000-yard plateau in all four years. The big-bodied receiver has also led the team in receptions and targets in each of the past three seasons. In his Pro Bowl 2016 season, he was targeted twice as often as any other Tampa pass-catcher. 

Evans, 24, was the second receiver taken in the 2014 NFL draft, sandwiched between Sammy Watkins and Odell Beckham.

“I’m excited to announce I will be spending the next several seasons in Tampa Bay with the Buccaneers with one goal in mind: winning a Super Bowl with my teammates,” Evans wrote on Instagram. “I want to thank the Bucs, from the owners to the front office, for believing in me and allowing me to take care of my family. I want to also thank my agents; Deryk Gilmore and Darren Jones for all of their hard work. I’m going to continue to strive for greatness on the field as well as in my community.”