Before becoming the Heisman trophy-winning quarterback for the Oklahoma Sooners and the #1 draft pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, Baker Mayfield actually drove for Uber to make ends meet. Soon after being drafted by the Cleveland Browns, Baker signed a 4-year $32 million contract. That contract came with a $22 million signing bonus. That signing bonus alone should have been enough to guarantee he would never need to drive an Uber again.
Baker was traded to the Carolina Panthers in 2022 where he played seven games before being released. He finished the 2022 season playing a few games for the LA Rams. For this upcoming NFL season, Baker is signed to a 1-year $4 million deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
If you put aside that Tampa Bay deal, which he hasn't earned yet, Baker Mayfield has earned a total of $48 million during his time in the NFL. He has appeared in a bunch of commercials, but has not signed any massive contracts. Let's just keep it simple and say that between 2018 and the end of 2022, Baker Mayfield has grossed a total of $50 million from all sources during his career.
After you remove taxes and agent/lawyer fees, Baker's net earnings are probably around $20 million. And that's before he's spent a dime on a home, cars, food, vacations, clothes, jewelry… or any other common, ongoing lifestyle expenses. But let's put aside these expenses for a moment and focus on the $20 million gross earnings.
Baker and his wife Emily recently petitioned a court in Austin, Texas, seeking to begin depositions against six companies that were involved in managing his NFL earnings. The petition wants to find out what happened to…
$12 MILLION
… of Baker's money.
If these allegations are true, that would amount to around 60% of all the money Baker has earned in his career so far.
It actually gets worse. And something tells me Thanksgiving at the Mayfield house this year is going to be very awkward…
(Photo by Nick Cammett/Diamond Images via Getty Images)
"Stolen… or… Misappropriated"
As we mentioned previously, Baker and Emily Mayfield's petition seeks to depose six investment firms. Awkwardly, two of the firms, Camwood Capital Management Group LLC and Camwood Ventures LP, were reportedly founded by Baker's father James Mayfield. Based on what I see in the petition, it sounds like multiple Mayfield family members work at these firms and are subject to the requested deposition.
The petition states:
"Petitioners simply do not know if their money has been properly and competently invested, has been stolen or otherwise misappropriated, or something in between."
The petition seeks financial record dating back to 2018, his draft year, through the end of 2022.
This is not a lawsuit. They are just seeking information at this time. BUT Baker and Emily claim they have thus far been "denied access to this information."
"It is too early to know whether a suit is likely or even anticipated."At this time, Petitioners have been deprived the information and documents needed to analyze whether their assets have been misappropriated."
