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Tampa Bay Buccaneers sign Chris Godwin to 3-year, $60 million deal, per report

The Buccaneers gave Chris Godwin the franchise tag but were also able to sign the wide receiver to a multi-year deal.

By Chet Gresham Updated
Chris Godwin #14 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers adjusts his helmet prior to a game against the Buffalo Bills at Raymond James Stadium on December 12, 2021 in Tampa, Florida. Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images
Chet Gresham received his MFA in poetry from Columbia College Chicago, but after a few years teaching composition, he took his talents to the fantasy football world. He started his own site called The Fake Football, also writing for Rotoworld, The New York Times and Bleacher Report before editing and writing about the NFL in 2020 for Vox Media and DK Network.

March 16 update: Chris Godwin and the Bucs have come to terms on a 3-year deal worth $60 million with $40 million fully guaranteed, per Ian Rapoport. This deal prevents Godwin from having to play under the franchise tag and they got the multi-year deal done. He will next be a free agent when he is 29.

Franchise tag deadline update: The Bucs were unable to come to a long-term deal with Chris Godwin and officially placed the franchise tag on him ahead of Tuesday’s deadline, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports.

Update: Despite yesterday’s report that Godwin was to be tagged, there appeared to be a flurry of activity to see if they could come to a deal before the deadline, but that has failed. Godwin will be tagged.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will use the franchise tag to keep Chris Godwin on their roster for at least another season. Godwin gets a fully guaranteed one-year contract, reportedly worth about $19.127 million. He was also tagged last season as the team tried to bring back their Super Bowl winning roster for a repeat run. Unfortunately for the Bucs, they were upset in the playoffs after Godwin suffered a knee injury in Week 15.

The good news for Godwin is that he gets a nice contract despite his injury, but if the team doesn’t end up giving him an extension, he will once again play on a one-year deal and with a quarterback not named Tom Brady, probably. The team does seem set on getting a deal done before the tag is official, which would be in their best interest.

Godwin was once again a standout receiver when healthy in 2021, as he led the team with 98 catches for 1,103 yards while scoring six total touchdowns. His injury was likely the death blow to the Bucs’ Super Bowl chances.

Tampa Bay will still have Mike Evans, but will obviously be without Antonio Brown, while Rob Gronkowski and O.J Howard are both set to be free agents. Keeping Godwin is probably the best move they can make at this time to keep the offense from truly hitting the skids next season.

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