Mike Evans’ Agent: Bucs Have One Week To Make Things Right
September 1st, 2023
Mike Evans and Bucs future.
As Joe suspected, Mike Evans’ agent is playing hardball.
Last night’s move by Deryk Gilmore, the agent representing the Bucs’ stud receiver, is the latest stunt certainly is grandstanding.
Gilmore emailed/texted one of his friends at the four-letter, Kimberly A. Martin, who happens to be a regular panelist on BSPN’s top-watched morning shows, to say Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht has one week to get Evans’ contract extended.
After that, Joe believes, watch Gilmore go to his buddies at CBS and FOX just hours before the Bucs kickoff the 2023 season in Minneapolis to say his client is done in Tampa.
Watch how this plays out. Joe’s seen this band play more than Bill Walton has watched “The Greatful Dead.” (Joe knows why Jerry Garcia passed away. He listened to his own albums and bored himself to death.)
Gilmore is playing the grandstanding card often taught in Agent 101 classes.
Statement from Mike Evans’ agent, Deryk Gilmore:
“We have informed the #Bucs organization that we will discontinue contract discussions as of September 9, 2023.”
That’s NEXT Saturday. 👀
— Kimberley A. Martin (@ByKimberleyA) September 1, 2023
September 1st, 2023 at 8:36 am
Sounds like this is his last year.
September 1st, 2023 at 8:40 am
I mean he’s going to play regardless or he won’t get paid right?
I don’t get the strategy really lol. So you decide to end contract talks and then what if Evans gets hurt or has a terrible year? Now you just really destroyed your leverage.
September 1st, 2023 at 8:42 am
Hahahaha – that shot at Jerry Garcia. Dang!
September 1st, 2023 at 8:42 am
I feel like a season with two big question marks throwing the ball to him isn’t the one in which to make a stand for a big contract.
September 1st, 2023 at 8:43 am
Respect how hard he worked but man, you know how people mock AC/DC for playing the same songs, just different lyrics? It all sounds the same? That was The Greatful Dead. Same boring tune, over and over.
The opinions here are only of one “Joe.”
September 1st, 2023 at 8:43 am
ME13 is the greatest offensive player in Bucs history but if this season starts to head South , maybe think of dealing him if you can get a #1 from a team in need; the bucs cannot afford him at $25 mil/year and the rest of the guys coming due. Then there is the converse way to just cough up the cash pay him as he is a cornerstone player in bucs franchise history as a top 8 buc of all time and a pillar in the Tampa Bay community. Men like ME13 do not come around very often and it is easy to compare ME 13 as the offensive version of Lee Roy Selmon in Bucs and Tampa community history
September 1st, 2023 at 8:44 am
My apathy couldn’t be any stronger.
September 1st, 2023 at 8:44 am
Bucs have reservations about giving Mike 3 years at top dollar.
Plus they don’t know how good this kid from Nebraska is. If he’s as good as they think he is then I could see the Bucs trading Evans for draft capital.
They don’t know how good this team will be – they don’t know what this offense will look like – they don’t know if Evans will still look elite – they know little.
At the bye they will know.
Even could lose a lot of leverage between now and then.
Agent pushing a deadline means the Evans camp is not hyped on the 2023 Bucs. They want to sign now before the reg season starts and the wheels come off.
September 1st, 2023 at 8:47 am
Evans is an old broken down horse by football standards. Time for some new blood. Some young bloods.
September 1st, 2023 at 8:49 am
Is that the real reason Evans has not be playing preseason games?
September 1st, 2023 at 8:50 am
We all want Mike to stay but one has to ask what’s his trade value
September 1st, 2023 at 8:55 am
Johnny Wilson to the Bucs.
September 1st, 2023 at 8:57 am
ME needs to talk to his agent to tone down the rhetoric or send him and Deva Devin packing in a package deal.
September 1st, 2023 at 8:58 am
Joe, The franchise tag is a non-starter. It’s projected at 28.35M next year. There’s always a way and hard decisions would have to be made. All depends on what you’re paying the quarterback and how you want to construct the roster. Again, you can tag and continue to negotiate for MONTHS. –Joe
There is almost no way the team will have the room to afford it. It’s either sign him or let him walk.
September 1st, 2023 at 8:58 am
Love Mike Evans, but it’s time for him to go. Not in a bad way, but to a team where he has a chance at a second ring. He won’t get one here, and after we recover from the Brady dead money we have a chance to build in a couple years. Clear more money and get some draft capital, makes most sense.
September 1st, 2023 at 9:03 am
Grateful Dead, Joe.
At least they intentionally misspell. 😉
September 1st, 2023 at 9:03 am
It just means that they will negotiate again after the season is over.
September 1st, 2023 at 9:05 am
Aging vets often exaggerate their worth. Football is a young man’s game. Sorry Mike, good luck where ever you wind up. Now we know why you sat thru preseason. Can’t see a multi-year contract at top dollar coming your way this late in your career. Maybe a one year boost but long term? Naw.
September 1st, 2023 at 9:20 am
Mikey’s true colors are shining.
No surprise
September 1st, 2023 at 9:22 am
We all love Mike and it would be nice to have him as a Buc for life but at some point it is time to get younger and more explosive at the position for the future especially looking at all these fast young guns around the league dominate 💯
September 1st, 2023 at 9:38 am
“Get Hammy to 999 yards and…
SIT HIM!!!”
Kobe Faker
September 1st, 2023 at 9:45 am
I thought it was odd he didn’t play. But they are “playing” hard ball with the GM. Mike knows there isnt any money in the vaults this year. Kind of a wasted antic if you ask me. I think it might be time to let Mike go try for another ring with a team that needs him. He was great for our franchise. Let him go for another Superbowl run.
September 1st, 2023 at 10:11 am
So much hate for a Bucs icon that has always been team first and never complains. Agents are sleaze bags that do the work to get their clients (and themselves paid). If this was the fans and we had agents, we wouldn’t feel too bad about them getting out there to make us some more money. We all want what’s best for us professionally and financially. I can’t be mad at Evans.
And for those of you that are clueless enough to say it….30 isn’t old at all for a big WR. He didn’t play in the preseason but the regular season is all that matters if you want to be healthy and are ready.
September 1st, 2023 at 10:13 am
Agreeing to this demand by Sept. 9th will set a very bad precedent. Have other players/reps on any teams done this or is a first. (I remember Fuzzy Thurston asking Vince Lombardi for more money…..he was traded the next day)
September 1st, 2023 at 10:16 am
I think he is done with Bowles. A half arse QB isn’t going to help ME’s future. He’s been at the bottom for years and had a taste of winning, he sees the future and it AIN’T good. He needs to go to a team where his strengths can be utilized not a run first mentality/dink & dunk O. I could see him on Detriot, Raiders, Bill’s, Jets, KC or even Pat’s (they have no #1).
September 1st, 2023 at 10:27 am
Think guys want to get paid and jump ship
September 1st, 2023 at 10:29 am
Apparently Joe’s never been to a Dead show.
The most fun I’ve ever had in my life.
September 1st, 2023 at 11:16 am
Or Bowles being gifted the starting job!!!
September 1st, 2023 at 11:23 am
GRATEFUL DEAD REFERENCES
“He’s Gone” seems like an appropriate song. It’s a solid song if you haven’t heard it.
REGARDING MIKE
This is his last big contract. He probably was offered $21-22/year. He wants $28. A contender might pay him but IDK.
September 1st, 2023 at 12:41 pm
I did not attend a Grateful Dead concert because by that time Jerry was dead. I did go to a Phil Lesh and Friends’ show. Only thing I remember are the UFO’s I saw but my buddy told me were stars. I thought their production was next level but that was only the acid. Total bummer.
September 1st, 2023 at 12:57 pm
He’s been a team guy from day 1.
A pillar in the community.
Never been afoul with the law or any authority.
Good family man.
Regularly re-negotiated his contract to help fee up money so that management sign players.
How effective will Godwin be without him?
Make it right and give him a new contract..
September 1st, 2023 at 1:09 pm
frozen – probably no shortage of Baker skeptics on the team.
If he doesn’t come out of the gate playing effectively there will be some unhappy players.
The signs were all there that Baker isn’t a good choice. He had those two good preseason appearances and they sat him against the Jets who’s first team shut everyone down (except Trask).
It was a smoke and mirror show to give Baker the job.
Well that’s all well and good, but now Baker has to perform.
September 1st, 2023 at 1:20 pm
Well Brady’s contract is almost paid. Possibly, Jensen could be retiring. (Hope not. 😔 ) There’s going to be a lot of tough decisions soon. I think we are going to be seeing a lot of new faces due to the Super Bowl run.
If I had to predict some cuts, then guys like Shaq Barrett not having a big year could hurt him, with all the younger guys drafted and made the 53 man roster. Kyle Trask could be next year starter due to not being able to give Mayfield a big contract if Mayfield does well. Russel Gage’s misfortune is an option with heavy focus on the drafted and undrafted players. LVD and Devin White has multiple younger guys the organization like such as S. Dennis, Randle, and the guy started a fight by hitting Rb White on the sideline.
We are in a rebuild already, but branded as a reload. I’m very thankful for these guys and the memories they created. The business side of the game may cause us to see some for the last time as a Bucs. It’s the harsh reality of the game.
September 1st, 2023 at 1:33 pm
If they extend Evans , they free up a lot of $$ , like $10mil on the cap this year and next. Pay the man , he’s always been there for the team when they needed him. Now it’s time it goes the other way. Go Bucs and Mike Evans
September 1st, 2023 at 2:39 pm
Face it the man is on his last legs. You could see it the last two seasons. He can’t get open and he is dropping more balls. Without the refs calls he’d be average at best. Let him go!
September 1st, 2023 at 3:59 pm
Thank god the other Joe has better musical opinions.
99.9% sure I know which one does not. 😂
I guess Evans is holding out after all. Wheels already falling off this season before it even starts? lol #ItsABucsLife
September 1st, 2023 at 4:00 pm
Buc1987 Says:
September 1st, 2023 at 10:29 am
Apparently Joe’s never been to a Dead show.
The most fun I’ve ever had in my life.
____________________________________
PREACH.
So much fun. Such good music.
September 1st, 2023 at 4:05 pm
Nope. And very good bet never will (yes, Joe knows Jerry Garcia is dead).
Just not a fan of their music. Not his cup of tea, that’s all.
Can’t imagine going to see a band don’t care for and having a good time. Don’t care for Springsteen either but went and saw him. Thought maybe was missing something since he’s so popular. Turns out, it was a three-hour snooze fest for Joe. Couldn’t wait to leave.
September 1st, 2023 at 4:55 pm
I hate to say it but I would let him go. Certainly none of the Bucs executives believe we are going to challenge for a title either with or without ME. He’s getting paid $24million this year and he is unhappy? I love ME and want him to retire a Buc, but I also wouldn’t give him additional money this year. I’m sure his thought process is that if he has to play for a non-contender, long-shot at best team, he wants more money.
September 1st, 2023 at 5:03 pm
Another selfish player trade him
September 1st, 2023 at 6:59 pm
You know, you could made your point about Jerry Garcia without taking a dump on AC/DC 😂
I never loved the dead either. Don’t hate em, but definitely don’t see what makes them so beloved.
September 2nd, 2023 at 2:27 am
Grateful Dead may be the best band in American History
Fire Bowles, end the misery
September 2nd, 2023 at 4:26 am
The agents job is to extract as much as he can from any team willing to pay it.
However the tactics agents are using these days put them right up there with ambulance chaser “lawyers”.
The media does no good when they publish demands from these sleezebags. This is the same crap Diva White and his agent pulled. Difference is Diva has not earned any consideration where as Mike has.
Hope we can work something out to keep him. I don’t think Licht is gonna let an agent dictate what he does or when he does it though. That would set a bad precedent. Good luck with that Mr. Gilmore…Not!
Go Bucs!
September 2nd, 2023 at 4:28 am
The agents job is to extract as much as he can from any team willing to pay it.
However the tactics agents are using these days put them right up there with ambulance chaser “lawyers”.
The media does no good when they publish demands from these sleesbags. This is the same stuff Diva White and his agent pulled. Difference is Diva has not earned any consideration where as Mike has.
Hope we can work something out to keep him. I don’t think Licht is gonna let a slimy agent dictate what he does or when he does it though. That would set a bad precedent. Good luck with that Mr. Gilmore…Not!
Go Bucs!
September 2nd, 2023 at 4:32 am
The agents job is to extract as much as he can from any team willing to pay it.
However the tactics agents are using these days put them right up there with ambulance chaser “lawyers”.
The media does no good when they publish demands from these ^%$# ing people. This is the same stuff White and his agent pulled. Difference is White has not earned any consideration where as Mike has.
Hope we can work something out to keep him. I don’t think Licht is gonna let any agent dictate what he does or when he does it though. That would set a bad precedent. Good luck with that Mr. Gilmore…Not!
Go Bucs!
September 2nd, 2023 at 4:40 am
BTW if his agent decides to play hardball, that just makes Jason’s job a whole lot easier next year. A stupid tactic in my opinion.
Go Bucs!