Tampa, Florida — Tristan Wirfs is set to stay in Tampa Bay. As of Thursday morning, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and their leading offensive lineman had reached an agreement on a five-year, $140.63 million contract deal. According to Adam Schefter, this is the richest deal in franchise history.
Along with shattering team records, Wirfs becomes the highest-paid offensive lineman in history, with an average annual compensation of $28.126 million. The contract surpasses Penei Sewell’s, who was the highest-paid tackle earlier in the offseason after signing a four-year, $112 million extension with the Detroit Lions.
Wirfs is the second member of the Buccaneers’ 2020 draft class to get a record-breaking deal. Months ago, Antoine Winfield Jr. avoided the franchise tag and signed a four-year, $84.1 million deal extension.
Wirfs’ deal is the final thing on general manager Jason Licht’s long list of offseason priorities. Licht has had his hands busy in recent months, entirely responsible for extending key players such as Baker Mayfield, Mike Evans, Lavonte David, Winfield, and Chase McLaughlin.
Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times reported on Sunday that Wirfs and the Buccaneers were close to reaching an agreement. Wirfs reported 24 hours later that conversations were progressing well.
“It’s all been great. We’re just attempting to sort out some minor details. But no, I believe we are moving [good]. These last several days have been excellent. “We just need to bring it home,” Wirfs told reporters.
Meanwhile, the offensive tackle has participated in individual exercises but has opted out of 11-on-11s.
