Vita Vea's standoff with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is over. The two-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle agreed Wednesday to a one-year extension worth $30 million guaranteed, ending a months-long dispute that included a trade request, skipped spring workouts and a training camp hold-in in which Vea showed up, practiced with teammates in individual drills, but refused to participate in full team sessions.
The money: Vea was already set to make $18 million in 2026.
The extension adds $6 million to that for a $24 million total this season, plus $24 million in 2027, making it effectively a two-year, $48 million deal with $30 million guaranteed.
He'll be 33 when it expires after the 2027 season, completing a full decade with the only NFL team he has ever played for.
His agent Collin Roberts had said publicly that a trade was the most likely outcome.
The opposite happened. The Buccaneers gave Vea enough new money to make staying palatable without the trade that never materialized, no suitor was willing to absorb the cap cost.
General Manager Jason Licht called him "exactly the type of player and person we want to build around in Tampa Bay."
Baker Mayfield's contract situation, also unresolved, is now the only significant Buccaneers holdout story heading into the regular season.