While wide receiver Chris Godwin agreed to a three-year, $66M contract with $45M guaranteed at signing to stay with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he left money on the table by passing on free agency.
During a Tuesday appearance on NFL Network, Godwin acknowledged he was “really close” to leaving the Buccaneers until he and his wife “had some really tough conversations” about his future.
“Had some really tough conversations with my agent,” Godwin explained, as shared by Liam McKeone of Sports Illustrated. “Because at the end of the day you’re trying to figure out what’s going to be best for our family. Not everybody would make that decision and I’m not faulting anybody that would. But at the end of the day…I have to go based off my gut. I have to go based off my intuition and what I think is going to be best for us in the long run. Being here, where we call home, where we feel the most comfortable, where we can raise our newborn son, I think all those things are big factors for us in making this decision.”
Godwin suffered a gruesome dislocated left ankle this past October but nevertheless was heavily linked with at least the New England Patriots before he decided to stay put. One report indicated he could’ve earned roughly $20M more had he hit the open market.
In March 2022, the Buccaneers signed Godwin to a three-year, $60M contract roughly three months after he went down with a torn ACL. Meanwhile, the JoeBucsFan website noted that Godwin declined on Tuesday to go into details about his ongoing recovery from his latest setback.
“I’ve never moved and made decisions solely based off of money,” Godwin said during an interview with Tampa Bay sports radio station WDAE about re-signing with what’s been the only team of his NFL career, per JoeBucsFan.
Questions about Godwin’s status for Week 1 of the 2025 season will hover over the Buccaneers until further notice even though meaningful games don’t begin until September. For now, everyone involved simply seems pleased that the 29-year-old is on track to remain a one-club man through the prime of his career.
