Tampa Bay Buccaneers and star wide receiver agree on three-year deal

After being franchise-tagged, star Chris Godwin and the Bucs have finally come to an agreement on a contract.

Just eight days ago, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers placed their franchise tag on star wide receiver Chris Godwin for the second consecutive season. The two sides were still working on agreeing to a contract extension even after the tag was placed on Godwin. Over a week later, the parties now have a deal in place.

Buccaneers’ franchise player Chris Godwin reached agreement on a 3-year, $60 million deal that includes $40 million fully guaranteed at signing, sources tell ESPN.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 17, 2022

The Bucs and Godwin wanted to be with each other throughout this process, and it was only a matter of time before they reached a deal. Godwin gets a great deal over a 3 year span and the guaranteed $40 million at signing bodes well for him after coming off of his serious knee injuries late last season.

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The most important aspect of this deal getting done, at this exact moment, is that it frees up cap space for Tampa Bay to sign other free agents. Many of the top free agents left right now played for the Bucs last season and a good portion of them had different mindsets heading into free agency before Tom Brady decided to unretire. You can name a few players like Fournette, Rob Gronkowski and Suh who are still available in free agency.

Bucs have void years added onto Chris Godwin's three-year, $60 million deal, so his initial cap number for 2022 is just $5 million.

— Greg Auman (@gregauman) March 17, 2022

Greg Auman reports that Chris Godwin's 3 yr./$60 million deal initial cap hit for the team in 2022 is just $5 million. That opens the Bucs' cap space tremendously to go out and sign some of these veteran impact players that they already have or possibly even look elsewhere. 

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