NFL
Tristan Wirfs is Now Highest Paid Offensive Lineman in NFL History Following Buccaneers Deal
The fifth-year tackle was part of the Tom Brady-led Super Bowl LV championship team
Tristan Wirfs has made NFL history!
On Thursday, Aug. 1, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers player became the league’s highest-paid offensive lineman ever. Wirfs, 25, reached an agreement with the team to the tune of a five-year, $140.63 million contract extension, ESPN reported.
The deal includes $88.24 million in guaranteed money, a source told the network.
“If anybody deserves to be the highest paid in franchise history, the highest-paid o-lineman in the history of the NFL, it’s this guy right here,” Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht said at a press conference on Thursday.
The right tackle, who was selected by the Bucs as the 13th pick in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft, has proven he’s up for the big job of protecting quarterback Baker Mayfield
Wirfs was a starter during his rookie season in which the Bucs won Super Bowl LV in February 2021, when the Tom Brady -led team defeated the Kansas City Chiefs, 31-9.
In his second season, Wirfs won Associated Press first-team All-Pro honors and was selected to his first of three consecutive Pro Bowls. Over his first three seasons, he started in 52 of 56 games, and his contributions helped the team to rank second in passing yards, third in total yards and fifth in scoring over that span, according to team stats.
The NFC team has had a successful offseason, re-signing not only Wirfs but Mayfield as well, plus wide receiver Mike Evans linebacker Lavonte David, kicker Chase McLaughlin and safety Antoine Winfield Jr.
Wirfs feels they are all poised for another big year, he said on Thursday. “It’s exciting stuff,” he said at the press conference, in which his, girlfriend Meredith Sutton, and newborn son Julius were in attendance. “It’s been an insane four years and here we are. It’s been a lot of fun, a lot of memories, and a lot more left to come.”