Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles proved Monday that every favor comes with a price.
Mike Evans entered Sunday’s game against the New Orleans Saints needing 85 yards to get to 1,000 this season. The 5-time Pro Bowler had two major motivations to hit the mark.
First, Evans would tie Jerry Rice for the most consecutive 1,000-yard seasons in NFL history with 11. Second, Evans would cash in a $3 million contract bonus for reaching the mark once again.
The Buccaneers had possession and a 27-19 lead with 36 seconds left at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla. But instead of having quarterback Baker Mayfield kneel to end the game, Bowles dialed up a play for Evans, who had just 80 receiving yards at that point.
Evans was wide open on a simple flat route and tallied nine yards to break 1,000 yards once again.
MIKE EVANS. 1,000 YARDS ONCE AGAIN. pic.twitter.com/V4S7S8APUX
— NFL (@NFL) January 5, 2025
On Monday, a reporter asked Bowles whether he had felt some nerves after making the play call. While it was a low-risk move on the Buccaneers’ part, it still gave the Saints a sliver of hope instead of ending the game outright.
“No, I was just hoping it was complete. And, you know, I think Mike owes me a million dollars,” Bowles said as he slapped the table in jest.
#Bucs HC Todd Bowles on his decision to get Mike Evans to 1,000 receiving yards at the end of the Saints game, which resulted in an 11th consecutive season of 1,000 receiving yards for Evans, plus a $3 million bonus:
“I think Mike owes me a million dollars.” pic.twitter.com/8v74FLpcLN
— The Coachspeak Index (@CoachspeakIndex) January 6, 2025
Evans probably won’t be handing Bowles a check for a million dollars. But it’s likely safe to assume he’ll at least treat his coach to a good steak dinner down the road.
Evans might want to consider sending a few dinner invites to the Saints’ secondary too given how they may have gone rogue on their own head coach to help Evans reach his goal.
