Taking a look at the top 10 Tampa Bay Buccaneers under contract in 2026, NFL salary cap projections and the team’s highest-paid players.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers opened the 2025 NFL season looking like they were on their way to winning the NFC and the Super Bowl as a whole. Come midseason though, the team looked like a shell of its former self as injuries to Bucky Irving, Mike Evans and Chris Godwin limited the offensive production, something that their average defense could not make up for. Tampa will look to rebound this season. When healthy, the Buccaneers may have the best group of skill players in the entire league.
Below, we will take a look at the 10 best players that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers still have under contract for next season. We will also look at NFL salary cap projections and the top cap hits on the team in 2026.
All Tampa Bay Buccaneers salary cap data below is accurate as of February 22nd, 2026.
10 Best Tampa Bay Buccaneers Under Contract in 2026
These are the 10 best players the Tampa Bay Buccaneers still have under contract for the 2026 season, in the order of their current salary cap hit. For those who know ball, you will recognize that these are the team’s 10 best players and not just the players that journalism nerds think they need to talk about.
- Baker Mayfield, QB ($52.9M)
- Tristan Wirfs, OT, ($36.3M)
- Chris Godwin, WR ($33.7M)
- Antoine Winfield Jr, S ($27.5M)
- Luke Goedeke, OT, ($22.9M)
- Vita Vea, DL ($22.2M)
- Zyon McCollum, CB ($15.7M)
- Mike Evans, WR ($13.1M)
- Calijah Kancey, EDGE ($4.6M)
- Cody Mauch, G ($4.3M)
Highest Tampa Bay Buccaneers Cap Hits in 2026
As things stand today, here is a list of the 10 highest player hits against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ salary cap in 2026. Obviously, contracts can be manipulated, and a player could be cut or traded as well. In the case of a release, we have listed a player’s dead cap. This is how much money they would count against the cap if they are cut from the team.
- QB, Baker Mayfield, $52.9M ($55.1M dead cap)
- OT, Tristan Wirfs, $36.3M ($61.7M)
- WR, Chris Godwin, $33.7M ($49.9M)
- S, Antoine Winfield Jr, $27.5M ($27.9M)
- OT, Luke Goedeke, $22.9M ($25.4M)
- DL, Vita Vea, $22.2M ($6.5M)
- CB, Zyon McCollum, $15.7M ($17.8M)
- WR, Mike Evans, $13.1M ($13.1M)
- G, Ben Bredeson, $8.8M ($10.1M)
- EDGE, Anthony Nelson, $5.4M ($3.5M)
NFL Salary Cap Projections 2026
The league has informed teams that the 2026 NFL salary cap will be between $301.2 million and $305.7 million per team. Below, we will assume a salary cap of $303.45 million, using data from Spotrac.
| Rk | TM | Current Players | Cap Space | Dead Cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | TEN | 52 | $97,776,638 | $5,135,657 |
| 2 | LV | 49 | $87,821,212 | $35,238,302 |
| 3 | LAC | 52 | $82,100,325 | $478,183 |
| 4 | NYJ | 51 | $78,990,889 | $88,996,619 |
| 5 | WAS | 52 | $66,506,531 | $12,592,731 |
| 6 | SEA | 57 | $63,421,971 | $483,724 |
| 7 | CIN | 63 | $52,675,496 | $11,248,222 |
| 8 | PIT | 60 | $44,768,173 | $7,934,338 |
| 9 | LAR | 53 | $44,390,412 | $8,570,436 |
| 10 | IND | 60 | $34,952,488 | $2,093,644 |
| 11 | NE | 64 | $34,800,699 | $20,364,345 |
| 12 | ARI | 59 | $32,813,790 | $14,951,854 |
| 13 | ATL | 50 | $26,181,296 | $4,660,354 |
| 14 | DEN | 55 | $26,033,090 | $1,218,922 |
| 15 | BAL | 48 | $22,673,001 | $12,262,715 |
| 16 | SF | 59 | $22,453,414 | $36,327,740 |
| 17 | TB | 52 | $14,479,885 | $253,922 |
| 18 | CAR | 54 | $9,875,093 | $14,607,844 |
| 19 | NYG | 58 | $7,030,099 | $216,988 |
| 20 | PHI | 56 | $3,679,036 | $53,387,574 |
| 21 | MIA | 52 | -$3,699,267 | $73,949,385 |
| 22 | GB | 66 | -$4,344,831 | $17,171,715 |
| 23 | HOU | 54 | -$8,042,142 | $39,318,780 |
| 24 | DET | 49 | -$9,151,960 | $9,287,290 |
| 25 | CHI | 53 | -$9,503,349 | $917,995 |
| 26 | JAX | 61 | -$12,074,552 | $50,977,118 |
| 27 | KC | 54 | -$14,403,869 | $215,642 |
| 28 | BUF | 59 | -$15,187,073 | $30,093,166 |
| 29 | CLE | 55 | -$19,541,898 | $39,763,849 |
| 30 | DAL | 54 | -$25,890,723 | $24,344,178 |
| 31 | MIN | 54 | -$40,632,414 | $5,608,074 |
| 32 | NO | 66 | -$41,774,364 | $90,590,412 |
