Buccaneers' Safety's Contract Ranked Most 'Player-Friendly' Deal
Buccaneers' Safety's Contract Ranked Most 'Player-Friendly' Deal originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
After an incredible 2023 that earned him a First-Team All-Pro nod and a sixth-place finish in Defensive Player of the Year honors, Tampa Bay Buccaneers safety Antoine Winfield Jr. suffered a setback in 2024, mainly due to injuries.
Advertisement
The former second-round pick in 2020 earned a record four-year, $84.1 million deal after posting a career-high 122 total tackles with 76 solo and six for loss, while adding eight QB hits, a league-high six forced fumbles and six sacks in 2023.
Even while dealing with calf and knee injuries last season, and appearing in just nine games, Winfield still managed 60 tackles with 34 solo and four QB hits to go along with two sacks.
But it's the contract that's grabbed the attention of ESPN's Dan Graziano. Graziano named Winfield's contract the most "player-friendly" deal for any safety in the league.
"Winfield is the league's second-highest paid safety by average annual salary, just slightly behind [Kerby] Joseph. But the rest of the deal is great for Winfield in comparison," Dan Graziano wrote. "Winfield got a $20 million roster bonus in 2024 and fully guaranteed salaries of $4 million in 2024 and $21 million in 2025.
Advertisement
"He's sure to make $45 million over the first two years of the deal and would make $64.5 million over the first three if he stays in Tampa Bay. It's strong money, given the rest of the safety market."
Winfield Jr. and the Buccaneers hope to rebound from a disappointing playoff performance last season when they were ousted by the visiting Washington Commanders in the Wild Card round.
A healthy Winfield Jr. will go a long way to accomplish that.
Related: Buccaneers Just Miss Top 10 NFL Power Rankings Placement
Related: Buccaneers' Wide Receiver Ranked in NFL's 'Bounce-Back' Players for 2025
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 29, 2025, where it first appeared.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Associated Press
22 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Collier has 23 points, McBride 20 as Lynx dominate Sun 102-63
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Napheesa Collier scored 23 points, Kayla McBride added 20 and the Minnesota Lynx rolled to a 102-63 win over Connecticut on Sunday, the Sun's ninth straight loss. Ahead by 10 after one quarter, the Lynx scored the first 21 points of the second to lead 50-26 at halftime. Collier had 15 points in the third quarter, when Minnesota outscored the Sun 27-15. Courtney Williams had 12 points, nine rebounds, seven assists and two steals for the Lynx (14-2), who are 8-0 at home. Minnesota had 11 of 12 players score on the way to a season-high total. Only Karlie Samuelson, who sustained an ankle injury after playing three minutes in the first half, did not score. McBride had five 3-pointers, one more than the Sun, to give her 653 for her career. That moved her past Kristi Tolliver for seventh in league history. Reserve Aneesah Morrow had 16 points, 11 rebounds and five steals for the Sun (2-15), who shot 35%. Olivia Nelson-Ododa added 10 points. Most starters for both teams sat out the fourth quarter. Reserve Natisha Hiedeman had 10 points and seven assists for the Lynx, who had 27 assists on 36 baskets. Minnesota is home against Indiana on Tuesday to defend its Commissioner's Cup title. The game does not count in the regular-season standings. ___ AP WNBA:
Associated Press
26 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Ott DeFoe Wins MLF Bass Pro Tour Zenni Stage 6 at Potomac River Presented by Athletic Brewing Company
CHARLES COUNTY, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun 29, 2025-- After a week that saw Tennessee pro Ott DeFoe near the top of SCORETRACKER® leaderboard every day he was on the water, the Tennessee pro finally shot to the top when it mattered most, taking down the Zenni Stage 6 Presented by Athletic Brewing Company Championship Round for his fourth Bass Pro Tour regular-season win and fifth BPT win overall. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: Pro Ott DeFoe of Blaine, Tennessee, won the Zenni Stage 6 Presented by Athletic Brewing Company at the Potomac River with a final day catch of 32 bass weighing 78 pounds, 11 ounces, to earn the top prize of $150,000. With a dominant final-day performance, DeFoe stacked up 32 bass for 78 pounds, 11 ounces to beat his closest pursuer in Ron Nelson of Berrien Springs, Michigan by nearly 27 pounds. Nelson finished as the runner-up, his best finish on the Bass Pro Tour since joining the ranks last season. DeFoe is one of the winningest anglers in Bass Pro Tour history, behind only Jacob Wheeler and Dustin Connell, but this marks his first individual win since Heavy Hitters in 2022. It's his first regular season win since 2021 on Florida's Harris Chain of Lakes. He did it in typical DeFoe fashion, too, escaping the bulk of the 66-angler field and fishing far up a creek in the Potomac River backwaters. 'The place where I caught them today was my first stop on the first day of the tournament,' he said. 'I saw them everywhere in practice and knew it had great potential. I had some other places where I could get bites, but with an early boat number on the first day, I had to go and see if I could get there first because it's not a big area.' Fishing the same general area as fellow Championship Round qualifier Keith Carson, both got off to fast starts the first day. "[Carson] was in there with me as well, fishing a little different section, but it was a blistering start on the first day for both of us,' he said. 'I had 40 pounds by noon, but I had a later boat draw the second day, and I drove there and could see some other competitors idling back in there. I opted to turn around and leave and really struggled most of the day and barely made it to the Knockout Round.' DeFoe couldn't make any other areas work but caught enough to advance. He was all-in on the area the final two days and took advantage of the tide schedule to get as far back as possible and reach bass in ultra-shallow water during the high tide, catching many of these fish he visually saw cruising due to the clear water. 'In practice, the best bite was mid-to-lower part of the outgoing tide when the water was really moving; kind of that mid-tide zone to the bottom end of the tide,' he said. 'That's when the bite made the most sense. We only got that the first day of the tournament, though. The high tide was the best for my deal because I could get so much further back. That was the most productive for me, especially today with how high the tide was during the final days of the tournament.' Getting to ultra-shallow water was helped by the tide schedule, and DeFoe believes the recent excessive heat was also a benefit, pushing bass to the shelter in the cooler creeks. 'All of the major tributaries have a lot cooler water because it's flowing, and then you have big pad flats and cover going in for bass to relate to,' he said. 'With the extreme heat we had here, I believe it was a driving factor in why so many bass were up there. It also seemed like new fish were coming every day.' The top 10 at the Zenni Stage 6 Presented by Athletic Brewing Company on the Potomac River finished: 1st: Ott DeFoe, Blaine, Tenn., 32 bass, 78-11, $150,000 2nd: Ron Nelson, Berrien Springs, Mich., 23 bass, 51-13, $45,000 3rd: Bradley Roy, Lancaster, Ky., 20 bass, 44-11, $35,000 4th: Cole Floyd, Leesburg, Ohio, 21 bass, 43-11, $30,000 5th: Zack Birge, Blanchard, Okla., 20 bass, 41-9, $25,000 6th: Adrian Avena, Vineland, N.J., 20 bass, 40-12, $23,000 7th: James Elam, Tulsa, Okla., 18 bass, 36-7, $22,000 8th: Keith Poche, Pike Road, Ala., 15 bass, 35-7, $21,000 9th: Spencer Shuffield, Hot Springs, Ark., 15 bass, 31-1, $20,500 10th: Keith Carson, DeBary, Fla., 14 bass, 30-1, $20,000 A complete list of results can be found at Overall, there were 198 scorable bass caught weighing 434 pounds, 3 ounces, by the final 10 pros on Sunday. Pro Bradley Roy won Sunday's $1,000 Berkley Big Bass Award with a 4-pound, 9-ounce largemouth that he caught on a bladed swimjig in Period 2. Berkley awards $1,000 to the angler who weighs the heaviest bass each day. The four-day Zenni Stage 6 Presented by Athletic Brewing Company at the Potomac River was hosted by the Charles County Government, Dept. of Recreation, Parks, and Tourism, and showcased 66 of the top professional anglers in the world competing for a $150,000 top prize, a share of the $6.49 million season purse, and valuable AOY points in hopes of qualifying for the General Tire Heavy Hitters all-star event and REDCREST 2026, the Bass Pro Tour championship. Television coverage of the Zenni Stage 6 at the Potomac River Presented by Athletic Brewing Company will premiere as a two-hour episode starting at 7 a.m. ET, on Saturday, Nov. 1 on Discovery, with the Championship Round premiering on Saturday, Nov. 8. New MLF episodes premiere each Saturday morning on Discovery, with re-airings on Outdoor Channel. The 2025 Bass Pro Tour features a field of 66 of the top professional anglers in the world, competing across seven regular-season tournaments around the country, for millions of dollars and valuable points to qualify for the annual Heavy Hitters all-star event and the REDCREST 2026 championship. Proud sponsors of the 2025 MLF Bass Pro Tour include: 7Brew Coffee, Abu Garcia, Athletic Brewing, Bass Force, B&W Trailer Hitches, Bass Pro Shops, Berkley, BUBBA, E3 Sport Apparel, Fishing Clash, Grizzly, Lowrance, Mercury, MillerTech, Mossy Oak Fishing, NITRO, O'Reilly Auto Parts, Power-Pole, Rapala, Star brite, Suzuki, Toyota and Zenni. For complete details and updated information on Major League Fishing and the Bass Pro Tour, visit For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF's social media outlets at Facebook, X, Instagram and YouTube. About Major League Fishing Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world's largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America's living rooms on CBS, Discovery Channel, Outdoor Channel, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world's top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 20 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care. View source version on CONTACT: MEDIA CONTACT: JOE OPAGER DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS p: 218.434.0748 e:[email protected] KEYWORD: UNITED STATES NORTH AMERICA TENNESSEE MARYLAND INDUSTRY KEYWORD: OUTDOORS FISHING SPORTS ENTERTAINMENT TV AND RADIO SOURCE: Major League Fishing Copyright Business Wire 2025. PUB: 06/29/2025 08:07 PM/DISC: 06/29/2025 08:07 PM
Yahoo
26 minutes ago
- Yahoo
USA vs. Costa Rica live tracker: Updates, score, highlights as USMNT battle Los Ticos in Gold Cup quarterfinal
The U.S. men's national team has won three straight at the Gold Cup, but few are convinced. The victories were narrow, the performances uneven, and now the tournament gets real. Next up for the Americans: Costa Rica on Sunday in Minneapolis in the first of three potential matches that could redefine a turbulent year. Mauricio Pochettino's makeshift squad brings youth, energy and a few standout performances from Malik Tillman, Patrick Agyemang and goalkeeper Matt Freese. But they also face familiar concerns with the World Cup less that a year away. Advertisement Costa Rica, meanwhile, has looked vulnerable but gritty under Miguel Herrera. The Ticos scraped through Group A and arrive without star striker Manfred Ugalde. Still, the wily squad won't make things easy. On paper, the U.S. should advance. But on the pitch, things don't always go according to plan. Sunday, June 29 USA vs. Costa Rica (7 p.m. ET, Fox/Univision) Follow along with Yahoo Sports for live updates, highlights and more from the 2025 Gold Cup quarterfinal:
