Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht hosted a conference call with season pass holders Wednesday afternoon. During that call, he commented on wide receiver Chris Godwin’s future with the team.
Licht stated that he hopes to sign Godwin to a long-term deal.
“First of all, we love Chris, everybody and anybody in the organization can tell you that Chris is a huge piece of this team and and Chris is an impact player at the position. I’ve personally told Chris we want him to be here long-term and be a Buccaneer for life. In terms of when that happens? I can’t tell you right now when those talks will officially begin. But I do know that he is in our plans for the long-term.”
Godwin’s extension has been a constant topic on The Sports Web on Bucs Report for weeks and looking at the current salaries of key players, there might not be enough money to spread around. The signing of quarterback Tom Brady has the Buccaneers committing $25 million each of the next two years. Mike Evans’ contract is roughly $13 million in 2021. Then factor in Donovan Smith’s salary of roughly $14 million and we start to see an issue. The total for those three players is in excess of $50 million for the 2021 season. Simple math tells you somethings got to give.
With Cowboys’ wide receiver Amari Cooper signing a deal worth $20 million, it stands to reason Godwin will be seeking the same, especially after coming off a Pro Bowl year in 2019. Of course the salary cap goes up each year and absolutely Jason Licht can reconfigure some existing contracts, but this is still a huge problem for the Buccaneers’ front office down the road.
