Mike Evans Contract Terms
Wide receiver Mike Evans is leaving the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to sign a three-year deal with the San Francisco 49ers that is worth up to $60.4 million, sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter.
Fantasy Football Impact for Mike Evans with the San Francisco 49ers
Evans spent his first 12 seasons with Tampa Bay, building a Hall of Fame career and helping the Bucs to a 2020 Super Bowl title. Until injuries derailed his 2025 campaign, Evans had a streak of 11 straight seasons with 1,000-plus receiving yards, tied for the longest in NFL history (Jerry Rice) and the longest ever to begin a career. His 108 career TD catches rank 10th all-time (sixth most with one franchise).
His 108 receiving touchdowns and 13,052 receiving yards are the most among active receivers who have spent their entire careers with the same team.
Meanwhile, as NFL.com noted, entering the offseason, the only players to change teams after having 100-plus receiving TDs with one franchise were Rice and Cris Carter. Evans makes it a trio.
"Saying goodbye to a legend such as Mike Evans is never easy, but today we are filled with appreciation and gratitude for all that he did during his extraordinary 12-year career as a Buccaneer," the Bucs said in a statement. "When the time comes, we look forward to gathering once again to honor his many accomplishments and celebrate his eventual Hall of Fame career."
It was considered a surprise when Evans didn't have a huge market in free agency two years ago, and the 6-5 wideout returned to the Bucs for just $41 million over two years. He responded with one of the most efficient seasons of his career on a route-by-route basis in 2024, but injuries have cost him 12 games over the past two seasons.
Evans, 33, had hamstring and collarbone injuries last season, forcing him to miss nine games. It was his first non-1,000-yard season, as he had career lows in catches (30) and yards (368).
On the field, however, Evans is still producing at a high level. His 2.3 yards per route run ranked 14th among all wideouts over the past two seasons.
San Francisco has a need.
The 49ers' wide receiver room is expected to undergo significant changes this offseason. The team has already acknowledged it will part ways with veteran Brandon Aiyuk, while Jauan Jennings, Kendrick Bourne, and Skyy Moore are all slated to become free agents on Wednesday.
Adding Evans gives San Francisco a big body to pair with talented but injured Ricky Pearsall and slot Demarcus Robinson.
According to SI.com's Grant Cohn, a healthy Evans will be the 49ers' go-to guy in the passing game. And he'll be a good fit with Brock Purdy, who thrives throwing to big receivers over the middle.
As USA Today's Christian D'Andre put it, Purdy needs a reliable presence on big downs, especially with George Kittle on the wrong side of 30 and rehabbing a torn Achilles.
As long as Evans is healthy, that's exactly who he is.
According to D'Andrea, Evans fits anywhere in the league, but his place in Kyle Shanahan's offense is a little curious. The 49ers coach has built a series of light-lift offenses for his quarterbacks, relying on playmakers and league-leading run-after-catch numbers.
Evans had just 46 yards after catch in eight games last season. Pearsall, for contrast, had 48 yards after catch last season across just three games.
Still, a receiving corps spearheaded by Evans and Pearsall, and supplemented by running back Christian McCaffrey, isn't a step down.
Evans sits at WR36 on the initial Footballguys projections, which mirrors his early Average Draft Position (ADP).
Even if the price rises slightly based on the belief he'll be one of the team's top options, there's still going to be room for Evans to finish closer to WR2 territory than WR3.
