Baker Mayfield had hopped from team to team throughout his college years, and later, even in the NFL. He was a first-round draft pick back in 2018 for the Cleveland Browns. But even with four seasons with the Browns, his first-round talents didn’t exactly shine through. Choosing Deshaun Watson, the Browns traded Mayfield to the Carolina Panthers. But that didn’t really last long because they released him after seven games. The remaining 2022 season with the Los Angeles Rams was also nothing to write home about. He only won one out of four games. At last, in 2023, he joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and it finally looked like he had found a place to stay. It was in Tampa Bay that his ability as a leader truly came out. And this leadership helped him land a massive contract extension from the Bucs.
The Bucks offered him a three-year deal worth $100m. If you add incentives to this, he stands to gain about $115m. But that’s all about his contract and career. Off the field, Baker Mayfield is also a big-time philanthropist. In 2023, the same year that he joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Baker Mayfield, along with his wife Emily, founded the Baker and Emily Mayfield Foundation. As of 2024, the foundation has invested over $100K in early childhood education. And more than $25 K to hurricane relief efforts. If this was not enough, they’ve also invested about $15K in after-school programming in Tampa and more than $10K in support of local diaper and baby supply banks. Apart from this, they have also supported 100 families with holiday gifts. Cut to 2025, and they are still going strong.
The Baker and Emily Mayfield Foundation recently announced a walk-on scholarship for student athletes. They announced this on their IG and website. The IG post is captioned, “We are excited to announce the Walk-On Scholarship presented by the Baker & Emily Mayfield Foundation! The Foundation looks forward to awarding two scholarships to walk-on student-athletes in hopes of easing the financial burden of college!” NFL Network’s Sara Walsh also shared the post on her IG story, tagging Baker and Emily, with the caption: “This is really cool.” The scholarship will offer $10,000 to two student athletes in their sophomore, senior, or graduate years who are “active walk-on athletes at their university.” It’s going to be a major push to the young players who struggle to make their mark on the field because of finances.
On the website page, Baker Mayfield remembers his own experience and writes, “My experience as a walk-on student athlete shaped who I am today. Emily and I wanted to find a way to support future walk-ons to reach their goals and full potential. The hard work and dedication these athletes put in every day and the belief they have in themselves got them this far. I hope this scholarship can help them reach even greater heights in and out of sports, by relieving some of the financial pressure of college.” And if you really consider the history of Baker Mayfield’s walk-on past, this scholarship just hits differently.
Baker Mayfield – the once walk-on student athlete
Baker Mayfield was the first walk-on to open a season as a QB at Texas Tech. Later, he transferred to the University of Oklahoma, where he had some struggles initially. After the transfer, he appealed to the NCAA to give him eligibility to play immediately at Oklahoma. He made the case that the transfer rules that apply to scholarship players shouldn’t apply to him since he’s a walk-on. But as his appeal was denied, Mayfield just wouldn’t take no for an answer.
Jan 5, 2025; Tampa, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) looks on before a game against the New Orleans Saints at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
Next, Baker Mayfield even appealed to the Big 12 Conference, but this too was denied. Oklahoma officials reached out to Texas Tech to push Mayfield’s case. If Texas Tech gave the green light to Mayfield’s eligibility, he’d be allowed to play. But they didn’t. So, Mayfield lost a year (2014 season) sitting on the sidelines and lost one year of eligibility as per the rules. The rules were finally amended in 2016, now allowing transferring players to retain their eligibility without losing a year.
And Mayfield? He never stopped playing football, except for that one 2014 season. He lost a year, but made up for it in the next few years. Incidentally, in 2017, Baker Mayfield won the Heisman Trophy, becoming the first walk-on player in history to do so. As he now looks to help walk-on student athletes in whatever way he can, we can see that drive and spark still burning strong. Players from Texas as well as Oklahoma will benefit big time from this scholarship. We can only wait and wonder, what more does he have in store for us?
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