The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have locked in one of their foundational pieces for the long term. The club announced it has reached an agreement with offensive tackle Tristan Wirfs on a reported five-year, $140.63 million contract extension, according to ESPN. The deal includes $88.24 million guaranteed and makes Wirfs the highest-paid offensive lineman in NFL history.
Wirfs was entering the final year of his contract and was set to make $18.24 million in 2024. Now, he is contractually tied to the organization through the 2029 campaign.
The 25-year-old did show up to the start of training camp and was present throughout practices, but sat out of full-team drills. He noted earlier this week that there was no "bad blood" between himself and the team and was encouraged by the progress being made in negotiations.
"I mean, it's all been good," he said earlier this week when asked about his contract status, via the official team website. "We're just trying to work out some little things. But no, but I think we're moving good. These past couple days have been really good. We've just got to bring it home. I mean, obviously it would have been nice for it to have been done already, but that's part of the business that I'm still learning about. But it's all been good. I was here all offseason training. Everyone knows I like it here, so it's just working on getting it done, but it's been good."
With this deal now agreed to, Wirfs stands above every other lineman in league history. The $28.1 million average annual value of his new contract exceeds Detroit's Penei Sewell ($28 million), Vikings' Christian Darrisaw ($26 million), and Houston's Laremy Tunsil ($25 million).
This is also the latest in what has been quite the spending spree by Tampa Bay to retain its core from last season. On top of Wirfs, the team also handed safety Antoine Winfield Jr., quarterback Baker Mayfield, and wideout Mike Evans extensions this offseason.
Wirfs joined the Buccaneers in 2020 when the club used the No. 13 overall pick to bring him to Tampa out of Iowa. During his tenure, he's helped the franchise to a Super Bowl LV title while earning first-team All-Pro honors in 2021, second-team All-Pro honors in 2022, and has reached the Pro Bowl in each of the last three seasons.