At the start of the Free Agency in the NFL, the Tampa Bay Buccaners agreed on a new contract with its most important free agent.
As several media unanimously reported, the Buccaners Wide receives receiver Chris Godwin. The long -time star of the team receives a new three -year contract that guarantees him a basic salary of $ 66 million. 44 million dollars are guaranteed and the deal can achieve a total volume of $ 72 million.
However, Ian Rapoport from “NFL Network” reported that he also did without a lot of money. Apparently he could have earned around $ 20 million more elsewhere.
Where exactly? Adam Schefter from “ESPN” reported this: “New England was very interested in Chris Godwin. New England exerted a lot of pressure and made it very difficult for him to return to Tampa … but in the end Godwin didn’t want to leave Tampa.”
Two serious injuries for Godwin
Godwin was originally a third -round pick of the Buccaners in Draft 2017. During this time he reached the Pro Bowl and won the Super Bowl LV team after the 2020 season with Quarterback Tom Brady. During his time in Tampa, however, he also suffered two serious injuries.
Once he tore the cruciate ligament at the end of the 2021 season and last season he suffered a serious injury to the ankle, which he had even exhausted. Accordingly, in 2024 he played only seven games, in which he achieved 576 yards and 5 touchdowns.
Godwin was considered the best wide receiver on the market if he had actually reached it. If he had actually become free agent, the Buccaners Dead Money in the amount of $ 18 million would have had to swallow in the coming season, which would have been incurred by the dissolution of his contract. Due to the early contract extension, however, Godwins Cap Number will be lower. However, an exact number is not yet known in the absence of contract details.